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lOx 

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1 

Tha  copy  film«d  h«r«  haa  baan  raproducad  thanka 
to  tha  ganaroaity  of: 

National  Library  of  Canada 


L'axamplaira  filmi  fut  raproduit  grica  k  la 
g4nArosit*  da: 

Bibliotheque  nationale  du  Canada 


Tha  imagaa  appaaring  hara  ara  tha  baat  quality 
peatibia  eonaidaring  tha  condition  and  lagibility 
of  tha  original  copy  and  in  kaaping  with  tha 
filming  contract  apacif icationa. 


Original  copiaa  in  printad  papar  covora  ara  fllmad 
baginning  with  tha  front  covar  and  anding  on 
tha  laat  paga  with  a  printad  or  illuatratad  impraa- 
aion,  or  ttta  back  covar  whan  appreprlata.  All 
othar  original  copiaa  ara  filmad  baginning  on  tha 
first  paga  with  a  printad  or  illuatratad  impraa- 
aion,  and  anding  on  tha  last  paga  with  a  printad 
or  illuatratad  imprassion. 


Tha  last  racordad  frama  on  aach  microficha 
shall  contain  tha  symbol  —^  (moaning  "CON- 
TINUED"), or  tha  symbol  ▼  (moaning  "END"), 
whichavar  applias. 

Maps,  platas.  charts,  ate.  may  ba  filmad  at 
diffarant  raduction  ratios.  Thosa  too  larga  to  ba 
antiraly  includad  in  ons  axposura  ara  filmad 
baginning  in  tha  uppar  laft  hand  cornar,  laft  to 
right  and  top  to  bottom,  as  many  framas  as 
raquirad.  Tha  following  diagrams  illustrata  tha 
mathod: 


Las  imagas  suivantas  ont  M  raproduitas  avac  la 
plus  grand  soin.  compta  tanu  da  la  condition  at 
da  la  nanat*  da  l'axamplaira  film*,  at  sn 
conformity  avac  laa  conditions  du  contrat  da 
filmaga. 

Laa  axampiairaa  originaux  dont  la  couvartura  on 
papiar  aat  ImprimAa  sont  film«s  an  commandant 
par  la  pramiar  plat  at  t\  tarminant  soit  par  la 
darniira  paga  qui  comporta  una  amprainta 
d'imprassion  ou  d'illustration.  soit  par  la  sacond 
plat,  salon  la  caa.  Tous  laa  autras  axampisiras 
originaux  sont  filmts  an  commandant  par  la 
pramiAra  paga  qui  comporta  una  amprainta 
d'impraasion  ou  d'illustration  at  an  tarminant  par 
la  darniira  paga  qui  comporta  una  talla 
amprainta. 

Un  das  symbolaa  suivants  spparaitra  sur  la 
darniira  imaga  da  chaqua  microficha,  salon  la 
cas:  la  symbols  ^-^  signifia  "A  SUIVRE".  la 
aymbola  ▼  signifia  "FIN". 

Las  cartaa.  planchas.  tablaaux.  ate.  pauvant  itra 
filmte  k  daa  taux  da  reduction  diffOrants. 
Lorsqua  la  documont  ast  trop  grand  pour  Atra 
raproduit  an  un  saul  clichi.  il  ast  film*  A  partir 
da  I'angla  sup4riaur  gaucha.  da  gaucha  i  droita. 
at  da  haut  an  baa.  an  pranant  la  nombra 
d'imagaa  nAcaasaira.  Las  diagrammas  suivants 
illustrant  la  m*thodo. 


1 

2 

3 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

»«CIOCOnf  IISOIUTION   TBT  CHART 

(ANSI  and  ISO  TEST  CHART  No.  2) 


^    r^PPUED  IIVUGE 


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From  the  library  of 

Dr.  B.  R.   MacKay 

193  CarlinK  Ava. 

Ottawa,  Can. 


THE    FESTIVAL    (iT     I  UK    .IIOOEKNAUT    CAR 


i1je  God  juggernaut 
^■ro;  Hui'iuism  in  India 


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The  God  Juggernaut 
and  Hinduism  in  India 


From  a  Study  of  their  Sacred 
Books  and  more  than  ^,000 
Miles    of    Travel    in  India 


By 
JEREMIAH  ZIMMERMAN.  D.D.,  LL.D. 


New  York       Chicaoo       Toronto 

Fleming    H.    Revell    Company 

London   and     Edinboroh 


BLI20/ 
Z5 


Copyright,  1914,  by 
FLEMING  H.  REVELL  COMPANY 


New  York:  158  Fifth  Avenue 
Chicago:  135  North  Wabash  Ave. 
Toronto:  39  Richmond  Street,  W. 
London:  ai  Paternoster  Square 
Edinburgh:      100  Princes   Street 


To  my  Wife  the 
Companion  of  my  Travels 


t 


Preface 

IHAYE  written  this  book  because  of  my  love  for 
world-wide  humanity,  and  my  intense  interest  in 
the  study  of  the  religious  beliefs  of  the  human 
race.  There  is  no  subject  in  which  universal  humanity 
has  been  so  profoundly  interested  through  every  gener- 
ation, and  among  the  most  diverse  peoples,  as  that  of 
religion.  The  history  of  mankind  cannot  be  written 
apart  from  the  religious  element,  for  it  has  been  insep- 
arable  from  man  and  constituted  the  most  dominant 
factor  in  moulding  his  thoughts,  determining  his  con- 
duct and  shaping  his  destiny.  This  fact  is  clearly  borne 
out  in  the  study  of  archsoology  and  anthropology,  and 
the  ancient  coins  of  Greece  and  Borne,  which  bear  the 
ideal  effigies  of  their  gods  and  goddesses,  are  the  co- 
temporary  monuments  that  testify  to  the  prevailing  re- 
ligious character  and  life  of  the  people,  and  which  even 
entered  into  the  organization  and  control  of  their 
political  institutions.  Not  only  has  religion  been  uni- 
versal and  instinctive  among  mankind,  but  often  uncon- 
trollable, for  the  religious  consciousness  has  been  most 
potent  "n  producing  deeds  in  conformity  with  convic- 
tions ;  lor  in  our  thoughts  we  live  and  move  and  have 
our  being,  and  as  a  man  thinketh  within  himself  so  he 
is  and  acts. 

Some  anthropologists  once  held  that  what  we  call 
the  religious  instinct  was  due  to  education,  and  that 

3 


4 


4  Pnhce 

the  earlier  races  of  man  were  without  religion,  but 
recent  archaeological  discoveries  in  Egypt  have  furnished 
unmistakable  evidence  that  not  only  through  the  long 
period  of  history,  but  far  back  in  prehistoric  times— 
to  at  leiut  10,000  years  ago— man  was  a  religious 
bemg,  as  the  ancient  remains  of  articles  buried  with 
him  in  the  innumerable  graves  abundantly  show.  The 
ancient  Egyptians  approached  very  near  to  the  mono- 
thejstio  faith,  and  they  held  firmly  to  their  belief  in  the 
immortahty  of  the  soul  and  the  eternal  life  hereafter. 

That  religion  is  innate  may  be  mf erred  from  the  uni- 
versaUty  of  worship,  and  man's  conscious  helplessness 
and  dependence  upon  a  higher  power,  which  lead 
him  mstinctively  to  make  his  appeal  to  a  Supreme 
Bemg  for  help,  whilst  the  universal  supremacy  of  con- 
science is  the  irresistible  power  and  echo  of  that  divine 
inner  voice. 

It  is  true  that  no  being  has  been  so  misunderstood 
and  misrepresented  as  that  Supreme  Being  whom  we 
caU  God,  and  who  is  the  loving  Father  of  us  all,  for  the 
grossest  superstitions,  the  most  extraordinary  delusions 
and  vagaries  of  the  human  mind,  and  even  shocking 
cnmes  have  been  associated  with  various  forms  of  r^ 
ligious  development ;  but  these  do  not  deny  but  rather 
accentuate  the:fa<5t  of  the  irresistible  power  that  relig- 
ion has  exerted  upon  the  human  race,  irrespective  of 
culture  and  s-^cial  standing.  In  the  history  of  religious 
thought  among  ancient  and  mediaBval  civilizations  we 
find  some  of  the  most  extraordinary  beliefs  that  ever 
influenced  the  minds  of  a  people,  and  neither  expense 
nor  personal  sacrifice  prevented  them  from  foUowing 
their  deep  religious  convictions.  I  need  but  mentira 
the  enormous  labour  and  cost  of  the  Egyptians  in  pre- 


Prefect 


1 


pcring  their  dead  so  m  to  make  their  futors  existence 
doubly  secure,  or  the  shocking  self-inflicted  tortures  of 
the  flagellants. 

"We  look  at  everything  relatively  or  by  way  of  com- 
parison. It  is  the  instinctive  method  of  every  thought- 
ful observer,  and  it  is  inseparable  from  our  study  of 
human  thought,  philosophy  and  religion  as  outwardly 
ezpruesed  in  the  habits,  customs,  social  and  political  life 
of  a  people  through  many  centuries.  Within  recent 
years  the  comparative  study  of  religions  has  been  pur- 
sued in  accordance  with  soientifio  methods,  and  it  has  a 
prominent  place  in  the  minds  of  cultured  people  gener- 
ally, whilst  it  has  come  to  the  fore  in  o.ir  great  institu- 
tions of  learning.  But  there  is  also  a  deep  and  growing 
interest  among  all  inquiring  minds  as  evidenced  in 
literary  circles  and  clubs,  where  the  subject  is  freely 
discussed;  but  especially  in  all  the  churches,  and 
Woman's  Missionary  Societies  of  every  denomination, 
for  they  have  seriously  taken  up  the  study  of  Chris- 
tianity in  its  relation  to  other  world  religions. 

My  personal  experiences  in  educational  work  with 
these  various  classes  have  made  me  acquainted  with 
their  deepest  interests,  doubts  and  perplexing  difficul- 
ties, and  the  many  questions  that  tJiey  ask  in  view  of 
contradictory  and  often  extravagant  statements  made 
by  superficial  tourists  and  Swamis  from  India  respect- 
ing the  comparative  character  and  actual  fruits  of  cer- 
tain religions.  These  earnest  souls,  with  inquiring 
minds  and  desire  to  know  of  things  as  they  exist  in 
India,  I  have  had  in  view  in  writing  this  book,  which 
has  been  a  labour  of  love  as  well  as  of  research.  I 
have  conscientiously  endeavouied  to  write  a  reliable 
work,  in  a  straightforward  and  readable  style  such  as  I 


6  Pre&ce 

employ  in  my  leotarea,  and  as  far  as  possible  I  have 
avoided  ail  dry  abstractions  and  technical  detail 

I  have  introduced  much  of  the  human  element  which 
is  of  universal  interest  and  value,  and  in  order  to  vital- 
ize and  give  vivid  realism  to  the  religious  thought  of 
India,  and  its  effect  upon  the  practices  and  customs  and 
life  of  the  people  as  eflTeoted  by  the  dominant  religion 
of  Hinduism.    In  other  words,  I  have  endeavoured  to 
write  so  that  the  reader  might  be  able  to  see  the  things 
about  which  I  have  written.    After  having  studied  the 
Sacred  Books  of  India  I  resolved  to  visit  the  country 
where  for  so  many  centuries  they  had  swayed  the 
minds  of  the  countless  millions  of  followers,  for  I 
wanted  to  see  the  effect  of  those  teachings  in  their  in- 
fluence upon  the  people,  and  then  judge  them  according 
to  their  fruits,  after  being  tested  for  many  generations. 
Some  of  the  results  of  my  studies  of  their  saci«d  writ- 
ings, and  profound  impressions  made  upon  me  from 
careful  personal  observation  gained  during  more  than 
five  thousand  miles  of  travel,  I  have  embodied  in  this 
work.    Often  I  went  beyond  the  beaten  track  of  tour- 
ists as  when  I  visited  Puri,  the  home  of  the  god  Jug- 
gernaut, and  where  millions  have  made  the  pilgrimage 
to  the  sacred  shrine  of  their  Lord  of  the  world,  and 
which  intensified  my  enthusiasm  to  witness  and  study 
the  psychological  phenomenon  of  religious  devotion 
gone  mad. 

I  have  written  with  a  sympathetic  spirit,  for  my  in- 
herent  love  for  humanity  is  world-wide,  but  this  has 
not  blinded  me  to  facts  nor  made  me  cover  the  sins  and 
gross  defects  connected  with  any  religion,  not  even  the 
perversions  and  abuses  of  the  Christian  religion,  for  we 
should  be  less  tolerant  and  compromising  with  these. 


Pre£u:e  y 

Uy  regnt  is  that,  owing  to  my  aljienoe  in  Egypt  for 
reMoroh,  I  am  onable  to  read  the  proof  of  my  book,  for 
the  aathor  always  finds  aome  forms  of  expression  that 
he  would  revise,  if  not  the  thought  or  partioalar  state* 
ment  of  fact  Bat  I  am  reluctantly  compelled  to 
forego  this  privilege. 


Contents 

I.  iMTtOOUCTION      ....  .13 

U.  Tl»G0OjuUGSRNAUT(jA0AmfATH)ATPuiU  35 

III.  Thx  AacsTics  and  Rsuoiota  Mimoicants  69 

IV.  Bbnarbs 87 

V.  Hinduism  in  India 135 

VI.  Karha  AND  Transmigkation     .       .       .15s 

VII.  Casts 167 

VIII.  Hindu  Tbmplbs 203 

IX.  The  Villages 222 

X.  The  Sacred  Books  of  the  Hindus   .       .  233 

XI.  Christunity  Versus  Other  World  Re. 

uoioNs 267 


ERTRODUOriOH 

INDIA  hai  the  preeminent  diitinction  of  being  the 
paradiie  of  the  oriental  godt,,  and  with  the  ezoep- 
tion  of  Confucianism,  it  has  been  the  battle-field 
of  the  world-religions.  £kch  one  of  these  has  been 
engaged  in  the  most  aggressive  efforts,  and  with  ohar- 
acteristic  missionary  zeal  and  method,  for  the  mastery. 
Christianity  has  won  its  way  among  the  dominant 
faiths,  and  with  a  mighty  host  of  devoted  workers, 
has  been  earnestly  striWug  for  the  moral  and  spiritual 
supremacy,  although  ^  iduism  and  Mohammedanism 
are  easily  in  the  asoende^oy,  so  far  as  nomerioal  strength 
is  concerned. 

There  are  many  reasons  why  we  are  interested  in 
India,  for  it  was  into  the  northern  portion,  now  known 
as  the  Punjab,  that  the  Aryans,  the  descendants  of  our 
common  ancestors,  came  from  their  northwestern  home 
after  many  centuries  of  migration,  and  here  they  estab- 
lished themselves  and  gradually  extended  their  con- 
quests southward.  Here  the  ancient  Vedas  had  their 
origin,  and  here  Brahmanism  arose  and  became  a 
mighty  priestly  power;  and  here  Buddha  was  born 
and  began  his  reforms  as  a  reaction  against  the  abuses 
and  usurpations  of  the  Brahmanical  priests. 

Buddhism  encountered  opposition,  but  it  grew  in 
power,  and  especially  under  the  tremendous  influence 
and  personal  support  of  King  Asoka,  for  under  his  reign 
It  spread  rapidly,  and  in  time  extended  throughout  the 

*3 


14    The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

greater  portion  of  India,  and  almost  completely  sup- 
planted Brahmanism.  Strange  as  it  may  seem,  that 
reform  movement  began  suddenly  to  wane,  and  after 
some  centuries  it  declined  as  speedily  as  it  once  grew, 
in  part  owing  to  the  shrewd  device  of  the  influen- 
tial and  unyielding  Brahmans,  who  foresaw  the  only 
way  for  their  self-preservation.  That  was  to  make  a 
compromise  of  Brahmanism  with  Buddhism,  and  from 
this  fusion  there  has  been  evolved  that  degenerate  and 
amorphous  amalgam  of  heterogeneous  beliefs  known  as 
Hinduism.  To-day  there  are  but  several  hundred 
thousand  followers  of  Buddha  in  India  proper,  although 
there  are  several  hundred  millions  of  followers  in  other 
countries,  and  more  than  ten  millions  in  Burma,  a 
portion  of  the  Indian  empire. 

It  was  in  India  that  a  small  remnant  of  the  followers 
of  Zoroaster  found  an  a^lum  when  the  conquering 
Mohammedan  invader  threatened  them  with  utter  ex- 
termination or  the  alternative  of  absorption  into  the 
Islamitio  faith.  Little  did  they  know  that  in  fleeing 
from  the  bitter  persecutions  of  the  conqueror  of  their 
own  country,  and  escaping  into  a  neighbouring  land 
of  strangers,  they  were  really  coming  among  a  people 
whose  distant  ancestors  belonged  to  a  branch  of  the 
same  stock,  and  once  speaking  the  same  Indo-European 
language ;  and  that  by  this  event  the  two  streams  that 
had  been  separated  in  remote  ages  were  brought  to- 
gether, and  who  at  that  very  day  were  actually  speaking 
a  related  language.  It  is  an  interesting  fact  that  whilst 
the  entire  number  of  Parsees  do  not  exceed  126,000,  no 
less  than  100,000  are  living  in  the  Presidency  of  Bom- 
bay, and  the  vast  majority  of  them  live  within  the  city, 
and  they  are  numbered  among  the  most  influential, 


Introduction  i^ 

public  spirited  and  progressive  of  aU  the  people  of 
India,  and  they  claim  a  greater  antiquitr  for  their 
sacred  book,  the  Persian  Avesta,  than  Hiia  jsm  can 
claim  for  tu3  Yeda. 

It  was  India  that  the  warlike  Mohammedans  invaded 
and  m  their  fanaticism  made  converts  by  the  power  of 
the  sword,  and  to^ay  the  Prophet  has  more  than  twice 
as  many  followers  in  India  as  in  the  Ottoman  empire  or 
no  less  than  sixty-three  millions.    The  Hindus  are  vastly 
m  the  majority,  and  number  more  than  two  hundred 
millions.  If  we  include  all  the  nondescript  outcastes  •  for 
the  religion  of  Hinduism  is  so  elastic  that  it  is  their 
boast  that  it  includes  every  shade  of  belief  and  worship 
and  the  theist,  pantheist,  materialist,  or  idealist  do  not 
seem  to  discover  any  incongruity  in  a  religious  system 
that  embraces  all  these  diverse  doctrines  of  faith  and 
jrreconcilable  contradictions;  and  there  is  no  trial  for 
heresy  and  no  persecution  so  long  as  they  do  not  com- 
mit the  unpardonable  sin  of  violating  the  law  of  caste, 
andwhile  they  recognize  the  Brahmanical  supremacy. 
While  there  is  a  great  variety  in  the  multiform 
rehgious  behefs  and  pra<5tices  among  the  Hindus,  this 
wiU  not  seem  so  strange  when  we  remember  that 
India  has  the  most  extensive  pantheon  of  any  conn- 
^.u""  ^^^^'^^^y  of  mankind,  and  in  comparison 
with    which   the   polytheism    of    ancient    Babylon, 
Egypt,  Greece  and  Rome  was  insignificant,  so  far  ai 
numbers  are   concerned.    Among  this  multitudinous 
host  of  Hmdu  divinities,  that  even  exceeds  their  vast 
population,  there  is  the  greatest  variety  of  character 
and  grade  as  well  as  distinctive  sphere  of  action  and 
special  service,  that  each  one  is  supposed  to  render  to 
the  one  who  seeks  its  favour,  for  as  celestial  bodies  in 


l6    The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

the  planetary  system  are  not  all  of  the  same  magnitude 
BO  there  are  greater  and  lesser  gods  in  the  diversified 
system  of  Hinduism  to  attend  to  the  varied  interests  of 
the  people.    Whilst  each  one  selects  one  of  the  three 
chief  gods,  he  enjoys  the  liberty  of  choosing  as  many 
of  the  less  potential  local  gods  or  goddesses  as  he  may 
desire.    Some  of  the  gods  are  attractive  in  appearance, 
but  others  are  repulsive,  such  as  Juggernaut  (Jagan- 
nath).  Kali,  and  G^anesa  with  his  elephantine  head ;  for 
whilst  the  cultured  and  art  loving  Greeks  made  their 
gods  beautiful  the  Oriental  has  often  given  hideous 
shape  to  some  of  J^is,  as  though  he  had  no  eye  nor  love 
for  the  beautiful,  for  at  times  the  outward  expression 
is  more  demoniacal  than  divine  and  hideous  enough  to 
frighten  the  children  and  give  the  nightmare  to  adults. 
Among  the  innumerable  gods  there  are  some  start- 
ling monstrosities  that  are  a  caricature  of  the  human 
form  and  are  without  the  remotest  suggestion  of  the 
divine,  except  as  they  may  represent  certain  ideas 
or  attributes  of  strength  or  cunning.    When  we  look 
upon  some  of  these  strange  caricatures  it  is  difficult  for 
us  to  understand  how  these  distorted  figures  (some  too 
grotesque  to  be  taken  seriously  by  a  Western  observer) 
can    appeal  to  the  minds  and  hearts  of  the  natives 
and  give  comfort  and  help  in  time  of  their  sorrow,  for 
they  do  not  seem  to  have  any  suggestion  of  love,  tender- 
ness, mercy  and  help,  and  yet  these  hideous  and  often 
repulsive  images  are  the  outward  expression  of  personi- 
fied beings  that  have  been  enthroned  among  the  deities 
of  the  vast  pantheon  of  Hinduism. 

One  thing  is  most  evident  throughout  India :  that 
man  is  an  intensely  religious  being,  and  often  intoxi- 
cated by  his  belief  to  such  a  degree  as  to  carry  him  be- 


Introduction 


»7 


yond  tbe  bounds  of  all  reason ;  but  every  age  and 
nation  has  been  pjreeminently  religious,  for  man  is 
not  only  a  religious  being  but  his  religious  nature 
and  wants  are  both  intensive  and  imperative  and  can- 
not be  satisfied  by  any  substitute,  and  hence  the 
greatest  sacrifices  have  been  made  for  religious  convic- 
tions. The  religious  quest  of  the  human  soul  is  in- 
separable from  the  world  of  humanity,  and  no  race  nor 
people  has  ever  been  found  without  religious  belief  and 
practices ;  and  hence  no  subject  has  ever  been  of  such 
universal  interest  throughout  the  entire  history  of 
hv  anity,  among  all  races  and  in  every  age,  as  that  of 
religion.  "We  cannot  write  the  history  of  any  nation 
without  its  religion,  for  the  deep  and  controUinp'  relig- 
ious element  has  been  the  most  dominant  fa«:  or  in 
moulding  the  thoughts,  directing  the  energies  and  shap- 
ing the  destinies  of  nations  as  well  as  of  individuals. 

The  ancient  Egyptians  were  an  eminently  religiou„ 
people  and  the  distinguished  French  archaeologist 
Maspero  remarked  in  the  famous  museum  in  Cairo  that 
"  The  vast  majority  of  their  literature  vras  of  a  religious 
character,  and  the  same  was  true  of  their  monuments, 
so  that  we  might  infer  that  the  country  was  inhabited 
by  the  gods,  and  had  only  men  and  animals  sufficient  to 
attend  to  the  religious  services  of  the  temples  and  for 
sacrifices."  The  same  may  be  said  of  Greece  and 
Rome,  and  of  the  former  the  eminent  authoritv  Famell 
states  in  his  recent  work  on  Greece  and  Babylon  that 
"Xo  other  religious  people  of  which  we  have  any 
record  was  so  political  as  the  Hellenic,  not  even  the 
Romans.  In  the  organized  and  complex  Greek  socie- 
ties every  institution  of  the  state — the  assembly,  the 
council,  the  law-courts,  the  agrarian  economy,— all  the 


l8    The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

regulations  of  the  family  and  clan  were  consecrated  by 
the  supervision  of  some  deity,"  The  "  Greek  religion 
had  no  sacred  books  or  authoritative  cosmogony  to  op- 
pose to  the  dawn  and  the  development  of  scientific  in- 
quiry." Everywhere  in  the  Mediterranean  area  "We 
observe  the  blood  sacrifice  of  animals,  and  the  frequent 
offering  of  fruits  and  cereals."  "  The  sacrificial  ritual 
of  Leviticus  does  not  differ  in  any  essential  trait  from 
that  which  commended  itself  to  the  Greeks  and  to  the 
other  peoples  of  these  lands." 

There  has  been  the  greatest  diversity  of  religious 
opinions  and  practices  among  men  as  seen  in  the  history 
and  growth  of  religions,  but  no  nation  nor  people  has 
been  found  capable  of  dispensing  with  religion. 
Buddha  may  have  attempted  it,  but  the  futility  of  his 
attempt  manifested  itself  in  time,  and  the  irony  of  it  all 
was  that  his  followers  found  it  impossible  to  maintain 
his  atheistical  system,  and  went  to  the  other  ex- 
treme by  elevating  Buddha  himself  to  a  place  among 
the  gods,  although  he  had  ignored  surh  a  Supreme 
Being  daring  his  lifetime  and  would  have  repudiated 
their  action  in  deifying  him.  The  universal  quest  of 
the  human  soul  has  been  its  search  after  God,  and 
Buddha's  followers  felt  compelled  to  create  one  for 
their  soul's  need,  though  the  founder  of  their  religious 
system  did  not  recognize  that  Supreme  Being  in  theory. 

To  the  student  of  religions  no  country  affords  such  an 
extensive  and  varied  field  fo:  study  as  India.  I  do  not 
refer  to  the  vast  area  of  empire,  and  population,  but  to 
the  great  stretch  of  time  and  religious  history  since 
their  early  ancestors  raised  their  altars  and  sacrificed  to 
the  phenomanal  powers  of  heaven  and  earth  as  their 
gods,  for  the)/  appeared  to  them  as  instinct  with  some 


Introduction 


»9 


saperhaman  force,  and  hence  in  those  remote  times 
they  worshipped  and  offered  prayers  to  trees,  rocks  and 
animals,  the  sky,  sun  and  moon,  dawn,  fire  and  water 
as  embodiments  of  a  divine  anima  or  spirit,  for  animism 
and  fetishism  swayed  the  minds  of  that  primitive  peo- 
ple before  they  knew  of  the  personal  gods.  No  wonder 
that  the  sky  had  the  supreme  place  among  the  heavenly 
ones  in  their  worship,  for  the  crash  of  thunder  and  the 
lightning  flash  must  have  filled  their  minds  with  deep- 
est awe,  for  without  knowledge  that  science  has  re- 
vealed to  us,  those  startling  manifestations  of  nature 
were  involved  in  impenetrable  mystery,  although  they 
had  an  innate  religious  aptitude  for  apprehending  the 
Divine  Being,  as  evidenced  by  the  appearance  in  their 
sacred  book  of  that  wonderful  word — Dyaus  pitar — 
shining  heaven  or  sky-father. 

True  they  may  not  have  recognized  a  personal  God, 
and  whilst  philologists  were  startled  when  they  discovered 
this  word  as  the  forerunner  of  Zeus  and  Jupiter,  still 
there  was  a  great  difference  between  the  conception  of 
that  remote  people  and  ours  when  we  speak  of  God, 
our  heavenly  Father,  as  a  Person  of  infinite  love  and 
mercy,  although  the  original  Tv  ord  may  have  been  the 
same.  That  Sanskrit  word  meaning  sky  or  heaven 
father  did  not  convey  to  them  the  same  idea  that  we 
have  when  we  speak  of  Our  Heavenly  Father,  just  as 
the  word  Zeus  did  not  convey  the  same  meaning  to  the 
Greeks  as  the  word  God  does  to  us,  and  the  same  is 
true  of  the  god  Jupiter  among  the  Bomans. 

No  people  to^iay  as  a  whole  are  m  thoroughly 
imbued  with  their  religion  as  the  Hindus,  for  they  are 
not  merely  religious  in  thought  and  practice  one  day  in 
the  week,  but  three  hundred  and  sixty-five  days  in  the 


20    The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

year,  and  their  religion  permeates  their  daily  life  so 
completely  that  they  may  be  said  to  eat,  drink,  sleep 
and  bathe  religiously.  They  have  clearly  prescribed 
rules  for  such  observances  that  they  follow  most 
scrupulouHly,  and  one  of  the  religious  requirements  ac- 
cording to  the  Sacred  Books  is  that  no  man  shall  allow 
his  wife  to  eat  with  him,  although  she  may  stand  and 
serve  her  lord  while  he  eats,  but  he  must  not  be  present 
to  see  his  wife  eat. 

Inasmuch  as  the  religion  of  the  majority  is  insepa- 
rable from  the  most  commonplace  affairs  of  every-day 
life,  and  has  such  an  important  place  even  in  the  culi- 
nary department  owing  to  the  supreme  doctrine  of 
caste ;  hence  their  religious  history,  beliefs  and  prac- 
tices are  not  concealed  from  the  public  and  the  curious 
gaze  of  strangers;  all  are  open  before  the  eyes  of 
the  student  who  would  study  them  in  their  native 
country  and  in  action  as  outwardly  expressed  in  the 
daily  occupation  of  the  people.  They  are  not  ashamed 
of  their  religion,  nor  to  be  seen  living  it  in  public  and 
to  be  known  as  followers  of  their  particular  god,  but 
proclaim  the  fact  in  many  instances  by  the  conspicuous 
and  unmistakable  symbols  marked  in  colours  on  their 
forehead. 

Therefore  India  is  a  favourable  land  for  this  study, 
for  we  behold  in  an  extended  and  ever  varying  pano- 
rama the  every-day  workings'of  Hinduism  in  the  most 
practical  experience  of  the  millions  of  followers,  and 
not  merely  as  a  fine  spun  system  of  philosophy  and 
religion  as  evolved  by  an  academic  study  of  their 
books  in  our  library  at  home,  but  as  a  living  and  prac- 
ticed religion,  and  instinct  with  tremendous  activity 
and  power  in  controlling  the  lives  of  more  than  two 


Introduction 


21 


hundred  millioiui  who  believe  its  teachings  and  whose 
thought  and  lives  are  moulded  by  it  We  can  examine 
it  at  close  range  within  and  without  the  temples, 
in  the  streets  and  public  highways  as  well  as  in  the 
homes  of  the  people,  and  not  merely  in  individual  cases 
on  dress  parade  during  some  annual  festival  and  in  a  par- 
ticular locality,  but  everywhere  throughout  India  in 
the  leading  cities,  towns  and  villages.  We  were  ex- 
cluded from  a  few  temples  but  with  those  exceptions 
we  were  freely  admitted  so  that  wo  enjoyed  the  oppor- 
tunity of  seeing  the  faithful  worshippers  and  the  dis- 
tinctive ceremonies  of  Hinduism,  as  well  as  its  abun* 
dant  fruits,  borne  after  many  centuries  of  unhindered 
freedom  in  testing  its  legitimate  and  unmixed  character 
on  its  native  soil. 

Some  of  the  practices  were  so  extravagant  as  to  ap- 
pear bewildering  to  a  Western  observer ;  at  times  we 
found  it  difficult  to  adjust  or  to  orientate  ourselves 
to  their  point  of  view  io  order  to  see  things  from  their 
particular  angle,  so  as  to  view  things  as  they  viewed 
them  and  if  possible  get  their  interpretation  of  the 
symbols  and  ceremonies  and  not  misunderstand  them. 
To  use  an  expression  coined  by  Max  MilUer:  "We 
must  make  full  allowance  for  the  very  important  in- 
tellectual parallax  which  no  doubt  rendera  it  most  dif- 
ficult for  a  Western  observer  to  see  things  and  thought 
under  exactly  the  same  angle  and  in  the  same  light  as 
they  appear  to  an  Eastern  one." 

It  is  to  be  regretted  that  this  eminent  Sanskrit 
scholar  confined  his  studies  to  their  Sacred  Books  alone 
and  never  visited  India  to  see  what  those  teachings  had 
done  for  the  people  through  many  centuries  of  undis- 
puted sway.'   Had  he  studied  them  in  connection  with 


22    The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

their  direct  influence  upon  tlie  people  and  judged  them 
by  the  fruits  they  bore,  then  he  himself  at  times  would 
have  received  a  different  point  of  view,  and  modified 
impressions,  and  he  would  have  reached  different  con- 
clusions as  to  their  real  character,  after  witnessing 
their  practical  effect  upon  tbe  destiny  of  a  nation  that 
had  believed  and  practiced  them.  That  would  have 
somewhat  changed  the  angle  of  his  Intellectual  parallax 
also  and  given  him  some  valuable  suggestions  that  a 
mere  academic  study  of  their  Sacred  Books  in  his  far* 
away  library  in  London  could  never  produce.  There 
he  studied  the  words  and  their  meaning,  and  the  subtle 
and  idealistic  thought  of  metaphysical  systems,  and 
which  have  attracted  some  Western  minds,  but  the 
supreme  question  respecting  it  all  is:  What  is  it 
worth  as  a  practical  working  religion  for  the  social  and 
spiritual  elevation  and  regeneration  of  the  human  race 
in  India  ?  India  m? de  the  experiment  with  countless 
millions  and  for  centuries,  and  what  is  the  result? 
"  By  their  fruits  ye  shall  know  them." 

I  am  well  aware  that  several  distinguished  Hindus 
visited  Max  MUller  in  London,  but  they  were  such 
choice  specimens  and  so  much  elevated  above  the  teem- 
ing millions  of  the  depressed  classes  that  they  were  by 
no  means  the  logical  and  representative  products  of 
the  Hindu  religion  just  as  Booker  Washington  himself 
would  not  be  a  true  representative  of  the  coloured  race 
in  the  South  ;  and  should  he  visit  some  distinguished 
pundits  in  India,  he  would  create  a  very  erroneous  im- 
pression were  they  to  look  upon  him  as  a  type  of  the 
American  negro.  This  suggests  a  caution  for  us  when 
a  highly  gifted  and  cultured  Swami  of  India  visits  ov 
country,  for  many  have  been  canied  away  with  enthu- 


Introduction 


23 


>ia«m,  and  fascinated  by  utterances  that  are  so  suggest- 
ive of  the  teaching  of  Christ,  for  they  overlook  the 
fact  that  this  same  Swami  may  be  greatly  indebted  to 
the  Christian  schools  for  his  education  and  modem  cul- 
ture, and  especially  for  the  many  attractive  phrases  that 
have  been  moulded  by  Christian  thought.  Unless 
Christianity  had  familiarized  them  with  the  New  Tes- 
tament we  would  not  find  so  much  in  common  when 
they  speak,  for  the  influence  of  the  Gospel  has  per- 
meated the  thowght  of  many  of  the  cultured  classes, 
who  instinctively  employ  words  and  ideas  borrowed 
from  the  Christian  religion. 

Because  of  the  multitudinous  and  heterogeneous  vari- 
ety of  religious  ideas  and  sects  in  India  the  people  con- 
stitute an  exceptionally  interesting  field  for  the  student 
of  comparative  religions.  The  force  of  this  statement 
is  seen  in  the  fact  that  the  vast  number  of  gods  in  the 
pantheon  of  Hinduism  has  been  placed  at  no  less  than 
three  hundred  and  thirty  millions,  easily  outnumbering 
all  the  gods  of  the  ancient  world,  and  the  members 
of  the  particular  sects  conform  to  the  outward  corre- 
sponding practices,  for  their  religion  has  made  them 
what  they  are. 

The  millions  of  religious  mendicants,  ascetics  and  dev- 
otees are  so  ubiquitous  that  we  are  ever  reminded  of 
this  pernicious  phase  of  Hinduism,  and  that  the  poor 
are  always  with  us.  The  number  of  animals  sacrificed 
at  the  Kalighat  in  Calcutta,  even  on  an  ordinary  day, 
surpasses  the  seven  lambs  that  are  annually  killed  at 
the  Samaritan  Passover  on  Mount  Gerizim,  while  the 
number  that  are  sacrificed  at  Kalighat  throughout  the 
year  almost  rivals  the  vast  number  that  were  offered  up 
at  the  yearly  Jewish  Passover  in  Jerusalem.    Hence  in 


24    The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

India  where  religion  becomes  krgoly  exemplified 
in  a  living  and  varying  }>unorama  of  outward  cere- 
monies that  are  often  of  a  liighly  Bi)ectaculurclmraoter, 
we  are  permitted  to  soe  their  religion  in  action  and  at 
work  in  its  immediate  inlluenco  upon  ttie  twKial  and  in- 
tellectual life  of  the  jieople,  and  as  it  hus  been  trans- 
mitted for  several  thousand  years. 

We  are  not  left  to  any  uncertainty  as  wh'  tudying 
some  prehistoric  specimens,  and  the  remains  found  in 
the  graves  and  tombs  of  extinct  races  and  religions,  but 
they  are  living  remains — the  descendants  clothed  in 
flesh  and  warm  blood  coursing  through  their  veins — 
living  on  the  same  ancient  soil  and  believing  and  living 
their  religion  and  which  has  determined  their  destiny. 
For  as  men  believe  so  they  are  and  act,  for  in  our 
thought  and  religious  faith  we  live  and  move  and  have 
our  being. 

But  perhaps  in  no  country  has  it  been  so  true  that 
the  thougat  and  life  of  a  people  throughout  their  his- 
torical development  have  been  determined  by  the  dom- 
inating character  of  their  religion  as  it  id  st<  ^  to-day  m 
India  and  where  we  may  behold  and  study  the  strength 
and  weakness  of  a  religion  in  its  effect  upon  the  count- 
less millions  of  people  for  more  than  thirty  centuries. 
This  is  due  to  the  persistence  of  its  distinctive  features 
and  controlling  power  over  its  followers,  and  the  fact 
that  it  ever  rises  to  the  surface  so  that  to  a  great  ex- 
tent we  become  an  eye-witness  to  what  their  religion  is 
and  what  it  has  done  for  them.  It  has  been  the  most 
potent  and  characteristic  factor  in  their  history,  and 
which  still  sways  the  vast  majority  and  opposes  the 
many  needed  reforms  for  the  social  elevation  of  the 
many  millions  whose  lives  have  been  doomed  to  an  ap- 


Introduction  35 

palling  itate  of  degradation  and  for  which  their  relig. 
ion  offers  them  no  relief,  aud  no  hope  for  future  re- 
demption. 

In  Southern  India  we  saw  about  the  temples  multi- 
tadee  who  bore  on  their  forehead  the  diutinctivo  symbol 
of  their  god,  Yiahnu  or  Siva,  rubbed  on  in  the  early 
morning  by  the  priest,  and  the  Pharisaic  Brahmans 
bore  their  marks  with  conspicuous  pride  that  recalled 
the  Pharisees  of  Jerusalem,  who  made  wide  thei>*  phy- 
lacteries in  order  to  proclaim  their  superiority.  But  in 
one  respect  the  Hindus  surpassed  those  Pharisees  in 
making  an  outward  show  of  their  religion  for  they 
made  use  of  the  temple  elephants  to  proclaim  their  par- 
ticular religion,  and  covered  the  great  foreheads  with 
the  trident,  the  symbol  of  Vishnu. 

In  Bombay  on  a  festival  day  we  saw  scores  of  relig- 
ious devotees  whose  bare  breasts,  backs,  arms  and  limbs 
were  streaked  with  the  sacred  vermilion  that  had  been 
profusely  smeared  over  their  bodies  and  faces.  They 
rushed  through  the  streets,  shouting  and  gesticulating 
violently  like  madmen,  looking  as  though  bedlam  had 
broken  loose  and  that  these  had  escaped  fioin  a  bloody 
massacre.  This  is  also  an  example  of  the  wonderful- 
marked  contrasts  that  we  find  in  travelling  over  the 
country,  for  like  a  kaleidoscope  the  view  is  ever  chang- 
ing and  there  is  such  remarkable  variety  seen  in  differ- 
ent towns  and  sections  of  the  country  that  we  never 
suffer  from  monotony.  Many  things  that  grow  tedious 
and  commonplace  after  years  of  familiarity  with  them 
in  a  particular  locality  have  all  the  charms  of  novelty, 
and  are  rich  in  suggestiveness  as  they  make  their  first 
and  lasting  impression  upon  us.  The  contrast  or  com- 
parison with  other  classes  brings  out  the  chief  qualities 


26    The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

in  clearer  relief,  for  there  is  no  such  thing  as  sameness 
in  traversing  India. 

When  we  speak  of  India  we  do  not  refer  to  a  dis- 
tinct nationality  and  a  homogeneous  people  who  speak 
one  common  language  like  the  Japanese  or  the  Chinese 
for  India  is  not  homogeneous,  neither  in  a  political, 
ethnological,  linguistic  or  religious  sense,  but  Is  com- 
posed of  most  heterogeneous  races,  and  speaking  as 
many  as  one  hundred  and  fifty  different  languages  and 
various  dialects.  The  population  is  one-fifth  that  of  the 
world  and  more  than  twice  that  of  the  Roman  Empire 
at  the  period  of  its  greatest  prosperity.  The  country 
has  an  area  of  one  nuUion  and  one-half  square  miles  and 
equal  to  about  two-thirds  of  the  United  States.  It  is 
pear  shaped  and  the  greatest  length  and  width  are  about 
1,900  miles.  It  is  bounded  on  the  north  by  the  lofty 
Himalayan  range  that  attains  its  greatest  height  on  the 
summit  of  Mt.  Everest  more  than  29,000  feet  above  sea 
level.  The  sacred  Ganges  has  its  source  in  this  same 
vast  abode  of  snow,  some  14,000  feet  higher  than  the 
Bay  of  Bengal  into  which  it  annually  pours  a  far  greater 
volume  of  water  than  that  which  flows  from  the  mouth 
of  any  other  river  on  earth. 

Under  British  conquest  and  rule  the  empire  of  India 
expanded,  until  it  not  only  included  Burma,  but  Balu- 
chistan where  no  traces  of  Indian  culture  are  visible 
among  a  hardy  people  who  seem  to  have  taken  on 
the  stem  characteristics  of  their  rugged  and  forbidding 
physical  environments.  These  severe  and  unattractive 
features  of  nature  as  they  see  it  have  given  rise  to  a 
familiar  but  rather  shocking  native  proverb :  "  O  God ! 
when  thou  hadst  created  Sibi  and  Dadhar,  what  object 
was  there  in  conceiving  hell  ?  " 


Introduction 


27 


That  region  is  in  striking  contrast  with  some  of  the 
beautiful  tracts  included  in  the  empire  of  India,  and 
yet  the  intolerable  h».'-'.  a."d  frequent  pestilential  epi- 
demics which  tht  people  have  , ;  ffered  are  proverbial. 
Moreover  they  h  'o  been  affti:  ted  with  such  dreadful 
calamities  as  the  .  vv^rflov'iug  A  the  Ganges,  drought 
and  famine  and  the  memoiucle  ones  of  1896  and  1897, 
1899  and  1900  when  no  less  than  live  millions  perished 
from  starvation.  The  bubonic  plague  has  been  an  un- 
speakable scourge  and  during  its  prevalence  in  the  year 
1896  cost  the  lives  of  1,000,000  people. 

However,  great  as  these  appalling  calamities  have 
been,  the  awful  ravages  from  the  many  cruel  wars  of 
invasion  and  conquest  have  even  exceeded  them,  for 
according  to  Katzel,  "  None  of  the  greater  nations  of 
Asia  has  been  so  broken  up,  pulverized,  and  kneaded 
by  conquerors  as  the  Indian :  among  none  has  the  vital 
marrow  of  independerce  been  so  destroyed.  In  all  this 
push  and  pressure  India  developed  no  predominant 
nationality.  Nothing  but  the  fact  that  the  300,000,000 
of  the  Anglo-Indian  Empire  are  split  up  into  thousands 
of  ethnological,  social  and  religious  fragments  enabled 
British  sovereignty  to  spread  so  quickly  and  maintain 
itself." 

In  this  connection,  bearing  upon  the  heterogeneous 
and  diversified  character  and  languages  of  a  people 
that  have  so  little  in  common,  the  following  extract  of 
Dr.  Grierson  forcibly  illustrates  the  situation : 

"  India  is  a  land  of  contrixsta  and  nowhere  are  they 
more  evident  than  when  we  approach  the  consideration 
of  its  vet^naculars.  There  are  languages  whose  phonetic 
rules  prohibit  the  existence  of  more  than  a  few  hundred 
words,  which  cannot  express  to  us  what  are  the  com- 


28     The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 


^i 


monest  and  most  simple  ideas ;  and  there  are  others  with 
opulent  vocabularies,  rivalling  English  in  their  copious- 
ness and  in  their  accuracy  of  idea-connotation.  There 
are  languages  every  word  of  which  must  be  a  monosyl- 
lable, and  there  are  others  with  words  in  which  syllable 
is  piled  on  syllable,  till  the  whole  is  almost  a  sentence 
in  itself.  There  are  languages  which  know  neither 
noun  nor  verb,  and  whose  only  grammatical  feature  is 
syntax,  and  there  are  others  with  grammatical  systems 
as  complete  and  as  systematically  worked  out  as  those 
of  Greek  or  Latin.  There  are  languages  with  a  long 
historical  past  reaching  over  thirty  centuries,  and  there 
are  others  with  no  tradition  whatever  of  the  past. 
There  are  the  rude  languages  of  the  naked  savages  of 
East  Assam,  which  have  never  been  reduced  to  writing, 
and  there  are  languages  with  great  literatures  adorned 
by  illustrious  poets  and  containing  some  of  the  most 
elevated  deistic  sentiments  which  have  found  utterance 
in  the  East.  There  are  languages,  capable  in  them- 
selves of  expressing  every  idea,  which  are  nevertheless 
burdened  with  an  artificial  vocabulary  borrowed  from 
a  form  of  speech  which  has  been  dead  for  2,000  years ; 
and  there  are  others,  equally  capable,  that  disdain  such 
fantastic  crutches,  and  every  sentence  of  which  breathes 
the  reek  of  the  smoke  from  the  homesteads  of  the 
sturdy  peasantry  that  utters  it.  There  are  parts  of 
India  that  recall  the  plain  in  the  land  of  Shinar  where 
the  tower  of  old  was  built,  and  in  which  almost  each 
of  the  many  mountains  has  its  own  language,  and  there 
are  great  plains,  thousands  and  tens  of  thousands  of 
miles  in  area,  over  which  one  language  is  spoken  from 
end  to  end. 
"  And  over  all  there  broods  the  glamour  of  Eastern 


Introduction 


29 


mystery.  Through  all  of  them  we  hear  the  inarticulate 
murmur  of  past  ages  when  the  Aryans  wandered  with 
their  herds  across  the  steppes  of  Central  Asia,  when  the 
Indo-Chinese  had  not  yet  issued  from  their  home  on  the 
Yang-tse-kiang  and  perhaps  when  there  existed  the 
Lemurian  continent  where  now  sweep  the  restless 
waves  of  the  Indian  Ocean. 

"  Light  comes  from  the  East,  but  many  years  must 
yet  be  passed  in  unremitting  quest  of  knowledge  before 
we  can  inevitably  distinguish  it  from  the  fake  dawn 
which  is  but  a  promise  and  not  the  reality.  Hitherto 
scholars  have  busied  themselves  with  the  tongues  and 
thoughts  of  ancient  India,  and  have  too  often  presented 
thera  as  illustrating  the  India  of  the  present  day.  But 
the  true  India  will  never  be  known  till  the  light  of  the 
"West  has  been  thrown  on  the  hopes,  the  fears,  the  be- 
liefs, of  the  300,000,000  who  have  been  counted  at  the 
present  census.  For  this,  an  accurate  knowledge  of 
the  vernaculars  is  necessary,  a  knowledge  not  only  of 
the  colloquial  languages,  but  also,  when  they  exist, 
of  the  literatures  too  commonly  decried  as  worthless, 
but  when  one  who  has  studied  them  and  loved  them  can 
confidently  afBrm  to  be  no  mean  possession  of  no  mean 
land." 

When  a  schoolboy  I  was  inspired  with  a  feeling  of 
hero  worship  as  I  read  the  thrilling  military  achieve- 
ments of  Alexander  the  Great,  although  my  visions  of 
him  seldom  extended  beyond  tho  Hellenic  world; 
the  extreme  limit  of  his  conquests  in  Northern  India 
seemed  too  far  away  and  the  strange  people  were  not 
even  remotely  related  to  us.  Within  recent  years  the 
relationship  has  become  more  intimate  and  India  has 
been  brought  nearer  to  us  by  the  wonderful  discovery 


30     The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  ir  '  Jia 

of  philological  research,  for  the  cotnparativo  study  of 
languages  or  "  linguistic  palaeontology  "  has  established 
the  fact  of  the  affinity  of  the  family  of  languages, 
known  as  the  Indo-European  (or  Indo-Germanic)  group 
and  including  the  Sanskrit  of  India,  the  Zend  of  Persia, 
the  Greek,  Latin,  Celtic,  Teutonic,  etc.  All  these 
members  can  be  traced  to  one  common  origin,  and 
beyond  all  question  there  was  once  such  a  parent  Indo- 
European  language  and  there  was  a  people  who  spoke 
it  and  from  this  original  the  different  larguages  men- 
tioned were  derived,  although  it  does  not  necessarily 
follow  that  all  the  people  who  speak  the  languages  of 
this  group  are  the  lineal  descendants  of  that  ancient 
prehistoric  race  that  once  used  this  language. 

It  is  far  more  difficult  to  locate  the  original  home  of 
the  primitive  Indo-European  people,  although  we  desire 
to  know  where  they  dwelt  before  the  dawn  of  recorded 
history.  Once  there  was  a  general  agreement  in 
assigning  the  Asiatic  origin  to  somewhere  in  the  middle 
of  Asia,  perhaps  on  the  Caucasus  or  on  the  Hindu  Eush, 
and  that  before  the  dawn  of  history  there  was  a  move- 
ment from  the  original  habitation  and  one  branch 
migrated  Westward  and  in  time  settled  the  various 
countries  of  Europe  and  whose  descendants  we  are, 
whilst  another  stream  of  humanity  moved  Southward 
and  invaded  India,  and  settled  in  the  Punjab,  over- 
coming the  aboriginal'  inhabitants  and  driving  them 
south  or  into  the  hill  country. 

But  within  recent  years  the  tendency  of  most  schol- 
ars of  ethnology  and  philology  has  been  to  abandon 
this  once  favourite  theory  and  to  shift  the  primi- 
tive home  of  the  Indo-Europeans  Westward  into 
Northern  Europe  as  the  most  likely  abode  of  snow 


Introduction 


3» 


referred  to  in  the  Veda.  PhUological  researoh  has 
discovered  the  contrary  to  what  was  once  supposed, 
and  that  the  Sanskrit  does  not  represent  the  most 
arehaic  form  of  language,  but  rather  that  it  has  been 
preserved  by  the  Letto-Lithuanians  who  are  stiU  found 
in  their  ancestral  homes  along  the  Baltic. 

Professor  Skeat's  last  word  on  the  conclusions  of  lin- 
guistic research  respecting  Indo-Germanic  types  is  con- 
tained in  his  posthumous  work  on  the  "  Science  of  Ety- 
mology," in  which  he  states  that  "  the  various  Teutonic 
languages   evidently  go  back  to  a  common  original, 
though  such  an  original  is  not  actually  recorded,  as  it 
had  its  being  in  prehistoric  times.    .    .     .    Just  as 
ItaUan,  Spanish,  Provencal,  and  the  rest  are  sister 
languages  descended  from  popular  Latin,  so  Teutonic, 
Celtic,  Baltic,  Slavonic,  Latin,  Greek,  Sanskrit,  and  the 
rest  go  back  to  a  common  origin.    One  result  of  this  is 
that  they  may  be  practically  regarded  as  coeval,  and 
that  It  IS  hardly  safe  to  look  upon  one  of  these  lan- 
guages as  being  older  than  another.    Latin  is  as  old  as 
Greek  and  the  Teutonic  element  in  English  is  as  old  as 
Sanskrit.    The  fact  is  that  many  are  apt  to  forget  the 
one  al  -essential  consideration,  that  languages  consist, 
properly  speaking,  of  spoken  utterances  only,  and  that 
the  representation  of  them  by  means  of  ^vritten  symbols 
IS  conventional  and  inadequate." 

Hence  the  pendulum  of  authority  has  swung  West- 
ward and  somewhat  to  the  chagrin  of  the  proud 
Brahnian  and  his  allies  who  were  persuaded  that  not 
only  the  rismg  sun  came  from  the  East  but  that  all  the 
great  light  of  primitive  knowledge,  and  especially 
religion  emanated  from  the  Far  East,  and  that  even  we 
ourselves  and  the  various  European  races  are  their 


32     The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

descendants,  though  somewhat  degenerated  through 
time  and  environment.    That  self-gratuitous  view  as 
held  by  the  Aryans  of  India  placed  us  under  tribute  to 
them  who  regarded  their  Sanskrit  as  the  most  ancient 
form  of  language  and  the  sacred  depository  of  all 
knowledge  and  the  source  of  the  greatest  civilization. 
That   self-complacent  view  has  not  always  been  as 
agreeable  to  our  Western  pride  as  we  might  have 
desired,  especially  when  the  arrogant  Swamis  have 
been  masquerading  through  our  country  with  their  ex- 
travagant claims  of  Eastern  wisdom  and  now  for  the 
first  time  revealed  to  the  West.    By  parading  such 
views  it  became  an  exaggerated  and  aggravated  ex- 
ample of  the  tail  wagging  the  dog,  an  iUogical  and 
irritating  category  into  which  we  were  forced  but  to 
which  we  could  not  gracefully  submit. 

No  wonder  then  that  we  have  hailed  with  gratitude 
and  delight  the  new  light  that  has  been  coming  from 
the  West ;  for  whilst  the  controversy  has  not  been 
absolutely  closed  the  accumulating  weight  of  authority 
is  sufficient  to  establish  the  highest  probabiUty  and 
amounting  to  a  proof  that  the  Aryans  of  Iran  and  India 
came  from  the  original  cradle  of  the  Indo-Europeans 
somewhere  in  the  West  and  migrated  to  theur  subse- 
quent homes  in  the  Far  East;  that  during  the  so- 
journ in  Northern  India  the  Sanskrit  language  was 
developed  and  there  at  diflferent  places  and  at  widely 
diffc  i^nt  times  the  earliest  hymns  of  the  Vedas  were 
composed.     Another  branch  that  followed  them  to  the 
East  separated  and  settled  in  the  country  known  as 
Persia  and  where  the  Avesta,  the  saxjred  book  of  Iran, 
was  composed  and  which  Bloomfield  ulairas  to  be  more 
ancient  than  the  Veda.    Other  portions  remained  in 


Introduction 


33 


■'M 


the  West  and  scattered  over  Europe  becoming  the 
ancestors  of  the  Greeks  and  Bomans  and  varioos 
countries  of  Europe. 

Unfortunately  monumental  records  fail  us  in  our 
endeavour  to  trace  the  remote  history  of  India,  for  the 
arch»oIogical  i-onumeuts  are  not  so  ancient  as  those 
of  Assyria  and  Egypt  and  hence  we  lack  definite  his- 
torical information  for  penetrating  the  distant  past. 
The  earliest  known  political  date  does  not  take  us  back 
beyond  600  b.  c,  although  untold  centuries  of  oiviliza- 
tion  extended  far  back  into  the  unrecorded  past. 

The  aboriginal  Dravidian  race  that  the  Aryans  found 
in  the  country  is  to^y  the  most  primitive  of  the  Indian 
type,  for  inasmuch  as  3,000  or  4,000  years  have  elapsed 
since  the  first  Indo-Europeans  entered  the  Punjab,  the 
distinctive  type  of  these  invaders  became  lost  in  time 
to  a  large  extent  through  intermarriage  with  the  in- 
digenous inhabitants,  but  after  a  number  of  years  they 
seem  to  have  recognized  the  necessity  of  restricting 
marriage  among  their  own  mixed  offspring,  somewhat 
as  the  quadroons  and  octoroons  of  the  Southern  states, 
and  this  may  have  originated  the  caste  system  and 
which  was  subsequently  developed  to  its  most  ex- 
travagant limits  by  the  priests. 

In  view  of  the  extravagant  statements  ^.^e  at  times 
relative  to  the  indebtedness  of  Europe  to  the  culture, 
ajid  civilizing  influence,  of  India,  the  following  quota- 
tion  from  the  eminent  Sanskrit  scholar.  Dr.  Lanman  of 
Harvard  University,  may  serve  as  a  deterrent: 

"Leaving  out  of  account  the  extreme  Orient,  India 
has  had  no  grand  part  in  the  history  of  world  civiliza- 
tion. It  is  true  the  primitive  Hindus  are  a  branch  of 
the  same  Aryan  family  to  which  we  also  by  right  of 


34    The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  I^dia 

birth  belong,  but  so  far  as  their  influence  upon  our  life 
and  thought,  or  ours  upon  them,  is  concerned,  the 
Hindus  might  almost  as  well  have  lived  on  the  planet 
of  Jupiter  as  on  the  banks  of  the  Indus  or  Ganges." 


u 


n 

THE  GOD  JUGQEBNAUT  (JAGANNATH) 
AT  PURI 

IT  has  been  the  overmastering  desire  to  see  the  god 
Juggernaut  that  has  attracted  many  millions  of 
devoted  Hindus  to  Puri  on  the  Bay  of  Bengal. 
For  centuries  this  city  has  been  a  veritable  Jerusalem, 
and  continuous  streams  of  pilgrims  have  come  to  its 
holy  temple,  that  they  might    enter  the   innermost 
sanctuary  and  stand  before  the  sacred  shrine  and  gaze 
upon  the  thrice  holy  image  of  their  Lord  of  the  World. 
They  come  during  all  seasons  of  the  year,  during  the 
intense   heat  and  cold,  in  rain  and  sunshine.    The 
greatest  number  in  one  year  has  been  estimated  at 
200,000,  although  the  average  has  been  about  100,000, 
and  the  majority  of  these  come  for  the  great  festival 
weeks  in  the  month  of  July  or  the  latter  part  of  June. 
The  saddest  feature  of  these  pilgrimages  is  that  about 
five-sixths  of  the  pilgrims  are  women,  and  until  within 
the  last  few  years  nearly  all  made  the  long  journey  on 
foot.     There   must    have    been    powerful  incentives 
brought  to  bear  upon  these  people  to  induce  them  to 
make  a  pUgrimage  that  involved  so  many  hardships  and 
often  at  the  cost  of  life.    It  was  the  controlling  con- 
viction that  the  sight  of  the  god  Juggernaut  would 
secure  for  them  remission  of  sin  and  deliverance  of  the 
otherwise  countless  rebirths  in  store  for  them,  and  gain 
a  genuine  passport  at  the  close  of  this  brief  life  to  one- 
ness with  Brahma,  or  into  heaven  itself.    With  such 

35 


36    The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

vision  of  the  glorious  future  they  were  willing  to  uiake 
gome  sacrifice  and  forego  for  a  time  their  sad  lot  of 
drudgery  at  home,  and  which  was  without  promise. 

The  women  were  most  susceptible  in  mind,  and  they 
had  the  most  to  gain  and  'he  least  to  lose,  and  hence 
their  sex  furnished  the  vast  majority  of  the  marching 
hosts.  Often  many  hundreds  of  miles  must  be  traversed, 
and  scores  die  by  the  way ;  the  deaths  in  a  single  year 
aggregating  as  many  as  10,000.    Lost  any  one  should 
be  deterred  from  attempting  a  pilgrimage  attended  by 
so  many  difficulties,  and  even  with  the  uncertainty  of 
ever  reaching  Puri,  they  are  sustained  by  the  assurance 
that  the  will  will  be  taken  for  the  deed  in  case  they 
should  fall  by  the  wayside  and  not  see  the  wonderful 
image,  for  then  they  shall  behold  the  god  Juggernaut 
him^^lf,  as  their  immediate  entrance  into  heaven  is 
guarynieed.    The  new  recruits  are  secured  by  thou- 
sands of  special  agents  sent  out  by  the  temple  officials 
and  as  they  are  past  masters  of  the  art  of  persuasion  a 
new  contingent  is  enrolled  each  year.    All  sorts  of 
questionable  methods  are  employed  by  the  unscrupulous 
travelling  agents,  and  as  there  are  no  woman's  rights 
nor  equality  in  Hinduism  it  is  not  strange  that  these 
susceptible  mortals  should  be  persuaded  to  undertake 
any  sacrifice   for  a  few  months  since  their  destiny 
through  all  eternity  is  involved. 

Any  one  acquainted  with  these  perennial  religious 
movements  that  through  the  centuries  have  exercised 
such  a  remarkable  influence  over  the  life  of  the 
Bengalese,  and  even  the  nations  beyond,  will  agree  that 
no  intelligent  traveller  in  India  who  is  interested  in  the 
subject  of  comparative  religions  should  fail  to  include  a 

ioumey  through  Orissa  to  Puri.    It  will  be  worth  far 


The  God  Juggernaut  (Jagannath)  at  Puri    37 


more  than  it  costs  and  few  places  are  so  remunerative. 
I  never  lost  the  impression  made  upon  my  mind  when  a 
boy  in  seeing  a  picture  of  Juggernaut  in  the  Bible  D'o- 
tionary  in  our  home,  and  this  became  d<)epened  into  an 
intense  desire  when  travelling  through  Inc'ia. 

Whilst  railroad  travelling  in  India  is  by  no  means  so 
comfortable  and  luxurious  as  at  home,  the  earnest 
student  will  And  little  occasion  for  complaint,  for  the 
many  objects  of  absorbing  interest  will  engage  his  mind 
so  completely  as  to  make  him  unmindful  of  ordinary 
discomforts.  Often  we  were  shaken  on  the  narrow 
gauge  roads,  and  wished  for  relief  but  these  were  the 
exceptions.  As  there  was  but  one  express  train  every 
twenty-four  hours  we  reached  some  cities  at  very  in- 
convenient hours.  Travelling  by  night  is  more  com- 
fortable over  long  distances  than  by  day  owing  to  the 
extreme  heat,  and  in  monotonous  portions  of  the  coun- 
try there  is  no  loss  of  scenery  and  a  gain  of  time  for 
places  of  interest. 

The  first  class  compartments  have  a  wide  and  long 
leather  cushioned  seat  on  either  side  and  two  corre- 
sponding ones  above,  turned  up  vertically  and  strapped 
against  the  side  of  the  car  by  day  and  let  down  and 
supported  in  a  horizontal  position  at  night  to  serve  the 
purpose  of  two  upper  berths,  so  that  four  persons  can 
sleep  in  each  compartment;  providing  those  in  the 
berths  overhead  do  not  roll  out,  for  there  is  absolutely 
no  guard  or  projection  of  any  kind  in  front,  and  the 
violent  shaking  at  times,  and  especially  on  the  narrow 
gauge  roads  would  make  them  rather  unsafe  unless  the 
unconscious  sleeper  could  hold  on  to  the  straps  by 
which  the  berth  was  suspended.  There  are  a  number 
of  small  sliding  glass  windows  on  either  side,  and  of 


38    The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

various  coloara  so  as  to  shut  out  the  glaring  light,  and 
as  a  further  protection  there  are  Venetian  blinds,  and 
which  may  also  be  used  for  ventUation.  There  is  a 
door  on  either  side,  and  a  third  one  at  the  end  that 
leads  to  the  small  private  lavatory.  There  are  special 
apartments  for  ladies  only.  By  paying  the  price  of 
three  tickets  an  entire  apartment  can  be  secured. 

In  the  larger  cities  there  are  modest  hotels,  with  the 
exception  of  the  magnificent  one  that  was  just  opened 
in  Bombay.  Where  there  were  no  hotels  the  railroad 
had  made  provision  for  sleeping  aimrtraents  in  a  build- 
ing connected  with  the  station,  and  good  meals  were 
provided,  although  it  was  not  a  quiet  place  for  sleeping. 
The  government  however  provides  the  dak-bungalow  in 
a  more  reUred  place  and  in  a  very  commodious  and 
quiet  one  we  found  quartai-s  when  visiting  Puri  The 
furnishings  were  painfully  plain  and  limited,  for  the 
traveUer  furnishes  his  own  bedding ;  a  doubly  important 
precaution  in  this  pkguo  stricken  and  densely  inhabited 

country. 

We  had  travelled  by  railroad  from  Tuticorin  on  the 
south,  stopping  at  the  leading  towns  and  cities  and 
making  dfetours  to  others  of  special  interest  that  were 
away  from  the  main  line,  but  which  every  student  to 
India  should  include  in  his  itinerary.  We  had  seen  the 
great  Dravidian  temples  in  the  various  cities  of  South- 
em  India,  and  had  witnessed  the  Juggernaut  car  pro- 
cession and  the  great  annual  festival  at  Madura  that 
seemed  to  reach  the  climax  and  yet  the  greatest  of  all 
is  the  one  to  be  seen  at  Puri. 

The  first  unmistakable  evidence  that  we  had  of  this 
fact  was  when  we  reached  Khurda  Road,  a  station  on 
the  direct  line  from  the  south  to  Calcutta,  where  a 


The  God  Juggernaut  (Jagannath)  at  Puri    j  ; 

branch  extends  Mst  to  the  Bay  of  Bengal.  At  we 
stepped  from  the  train  we  found  ourselves  surrounded 
by  a  swarm  of  excited  pilgrims  who  were  returning 
from  Puri  and  vnxious  to  board  the  train  going  to 
Calcutta.  They  rushed  like  a  mob  for  the  third  class 
coaches  until  there  was  not  so  much  as  standing  room, 
even  for  a  thin  half  starved  East  Indian,  and  then  the 
doors  were  closed  and  the  disappointed  ones  were 
driven  from  the  platform  and  without  the  station, 
either  to  await  the  next  train  or  else  like  their  ancestors 
of  old  to  make  the  journey  on  foot. 

We  had  secured  our  seats  in  a  coach  on  the  Orissa 
branch  and  there  were  several  vacant  places  in  our 
compartment,  but  the  price  of  such  a  luxury  was  prohib- 
itive for  the  ordinary  poor  pilgrim  and  they  passed  by. 
We  had  scarcely  taken  our  seats  before  the  gates  were 
opened  to  the  multitude  of  pilgrims  who  had  been 
anxiously  waiting  and  it  seemed  like  bedlam  let  loose, 
as  many  with  staff  in  band  and  carrying  a  bundle  with 
some  extra  nigs  and  food  for  the  way  rushed  pell-mell 
along  the  platform,  and  some  with  frenzied  effort  to 
crowd  taeir  way  into  a  third-class  car.  Again  I  saw 
the  <Jisappointed  ones  and  some  almost  with  the  look  of 
despair,  for  many  had  come  from  a  long  distance  and 
were  hungry  and  weak  and  wearied  from  the  journey, 
and  necessity  obliged  them  to  ride  the  remainder  of  the 
way. 

We  saw  the  same  drama  of  human  disappointment 
and  desperation  enacted  at  all  the  leading  stations. 
Never  shall  I  forget  the  frantic  efforts  of  some  as  they 
raahed  foa*  the  train,  for  experience  had  taught  them 
that  the  majority  were  doomed  to  disappointment. 
S&di  inadequate  accommodations  are  open  to  criticism, 


.m 


40    The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

for  these  poor  people  a^nnot  secu-e  either  sitting  or 
standing  room  in  advance  and  with  the  desperate  strug- 
gle of  the  many  for  a  limited  numbei  of  places  the 
strong  have  a  decided  advantage  over  the  weak,  and 
there  is  no  special  deference  shown  to  members  of  the 
gentler  sex,  but  on  the  contrary  the  strong  man  elbows 
his  way  and  crowds  them  out.  Fortunately  the  third 
class  transportation  on  this  branch  through  Orissa  to 
Puri  is  said  to  be  the  cheapest  fare  of  any  railroad  in 
the  world,  but  the  accommodations  are  utterly  inade- 
quate to  the  demand,  and  during  the  weeks  of  the  car 
festival  the  vast  majority  must  walk,  unless  they  have 
greatly  increased  their  facilities  for  carrying  passengers 
since  the  time  of  our  visit. 

We  passed  hundreds  trudging  along  on  foot,  with 
all  their  temporary  possessions  tied  together  in  a  small 
bundle,  with  the  addition  of  the  indispensable  bowl. 
Not  one  suffered  any  impediment  from  an  excess  of 
baggage,  and  never  before  did  we  see  men  and  women 
travelling  so  far  from  home  with  so  little  to  encumber 
them.  There  was  not  even  an  extra  undergarment,  for 
in  India  on  such  occasions  they  attend  to  their  own 
laundry  and  wait  while  they  stand  and  wash  it.  Pov- 
erty acquired  a  new  meaning  and  such  as  we  had  not 
understood  from  the  dictionary,  for  in  our  land  of  plenty 
it  is  only  a  relative  term,  but  when  we  saw  the  dress 
or  rather  the  lack  of  dress  among  many  whose  exposed 
slender  forms  showed  every  rib,  then  we  saw  poverty 
exemplified  at  its  most  deplorable  stage. 

Often  we  observed  the  poor  during  the  cold  hours 
between  sunset  and  sunrise  when  they  must  have  suf- 
fered from  the  inadequate  clothing  and  food,  for  they 
had  not  sufficient  of  either.    Their  thin  limbs  were 


The  God  Juggernaut  (Jagannath)  at  Puri    41 

bare  and  the  little  clothing  that  they  wore,  with  the 
exception  of  the  loin  cloth,  was  wrapped  about  their 
shoulders.  The  man  of  Bengal  especially  has  thin 
legs  of  skin  and  bone,  with  scarcely  any  flesh,  look- 
ing skeleton  like,  but  having  large  "  knocking  knobs  " 
for  knees.  Even  his  head  is  generally  bare  and  his 
oiled  black  hair  is  the  only  protection  against  the  ter- 
rible heat  of  the  sun  that  the  European  dreads  so 
much.  During  the  colder  weather  he  wears  a  thin 
white  cotton  dress,  tucked  up  about  his  limbs  for  con- 
venience in  walking  and  working,  as  well  as  to  dis- 
tinguish it  from  the  dress  of  a  woman. 

Among  the  many  pilgrims  that  we  saw  on  their 
homeward  way  ware  several  strange  groups  in  a  non- 
descript dress,  made  up  of  odd  portions  of  the  occi- 
dental wearing  apparel  with  the  plain  oriental,  that 
made  them  look  like  a  troupe  of  masqueraders  as  they 
hurried  along  the  road.  They  were  entirely  ignorant 
of  the  European  dress  for  they  wore  the  clothing  with- 
out any  regard  to  the  fitness  of  things  so  far  as  our 
ideas  are  concerned.  Some  with  bare  legs  wore  a  pair 
of  boots,  and  others  wore  trousers  with  the  feet  and  the 
rest  of  the  body  bare.  Some  wore  an  English  coat  and 
over  it  a  white  shirt  with  the  skirt  outside  the  trousers. 
The  coloured  suspenders  especially  seemed  to  appeal  to 
their  pride  as  they  invariably  wore  them  on  the  outside, 
even  over  the  black  coat  and  they  reminded  us  of  the 
hoodlums  seen  in  a  circus-ring,  or  on  some  spectacular 
street  parade.  How  they  came  in  possession  of  this 
strange  attire  I  know  not.  Possibly  some  English  ofli- 
cials  had  abandoned  them  when  returning  home ;  or  in- 
asmuch as  this  class  of  pilgrims  were  hurrying  along  at 
an  unusual  pace  for  a  native,  there  may  have  been  a 


m 
i  m 

ir'  1 


42    The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

fortunate  fire  or  some  second-hand  dealer  may  have 
been  robbed. 

Many  of  the  returning  pilgrims  carried  a  stick  or  a 
small  bundle  with  them,  made  of  twigs  and  sold  in  Puri. 
Some  used  them  as  a  cane  and  they  were  carried  home 
as  treasured  souvenirs  and  in  some  cases  as  a  sort  of 
fetish ;  for  when  blessed  by  the  priests  or  placed  in  the 
presence  of  the  sacred  images,  they  became  invested 
with  a  potent  charm.  They  recalled  the  Russian  peas- 
ants whom  we  saw  in  the  Church  of  the  Holy  Sepul- 
chre in  Jerusalem  on  the  memorable  day  when  they 
lighted  the  tapers  from  the  Holy  Fire,  and  then  took 
them  to  their  homes  with  a  reverent  belief  in  their 
meritorious  character. 

The  province  of  Orissa,  and  especially  the  portion  ly- 
ing about  Puri,  is  thfe  Holy  Land  for  these  devoted  pil- 
grims, for  according  to  the  Sanskrit  the  word  Orissa 
means  the  "  glorious  country,"  and  is  so  sacred  and  re- 
vered in  the  mind  of  ancient  Hindu  writers  that  they 
designate  it  as  the  "  realm  established  by  the  gods,  the 
land  that  takes  away  sin."    In  fact,  one  of  their  sages 
had  most  extravagant  conceptions  of  the  religious  merit 
of  this  province  for  he  wrote  that  "  of  all  the  regions  of 
the  earth,  India  is  noblest,  and  of  all  the  countries  of 
India,  Utkala  (Orissa)  bears  the  highest  renown.    Its 
fortunate  inhabitants  live  secure  of  a  reception  into  the 
world  of  spirits  and  even  those  who  visit  it  and  bathe 
in    its  sacred  rivers  obtain  remission  of  their  sins, 
though  they  may  weigh  like  mountains.    Who  shall  es- 
timate the  soul's  gain  from  a  sojourn  in  such  a  land  ? 
But  what  need  for  enlarging  on  the  praises  of  a  land  in 
which  the  gods  loved  to  dwell  ?  " 
Since  the  district  for  many  scores  of  miles  surround- 


The  God  Juggernaut  (Jagannath)  at  Puri    43 

ing  Puri  is  regarded  as  holy  ground,  in  the  minds  of 
some,  the  merit  accruing  from  a  pilgrimage  through  it 
to  the  holy  shrine  u  in  direct  ratio  to  the  degree  of 
self-abasement  and  physical  suffering  endured ;  hence 
there  have  been  not  a  few  who  made  that  journey  as 
difficult  and  as  painful  as  possible  when  approaching 
the  Holy  City  by  prostrating  themselves  upon  the 
earth  and  measuring  the  ground  for  miles  with  the 
length  of  their  body,  repeating  the  process  time  and 
again  as  they  stretch  their  full  length  from  head  to  foot 
and  marking  the  point  attained  with  the  tips  of  their 
fingers  or  with  an  iron  pin,  and  then  rising  and  placing 
their  toes  at  this  mark,  prostrating  themselves  again 
and  again  for  weeks  or  more  according  to  the  distance 
to  be  traversed.  One  pilgrim  made  the  extreme  »*is- 
tance  of  seven  hundred  miles  by  this  slow  method 
uuring  eight  months. 

We  may  call  them  fanatics  but  we  cannot  help  but 
pity  them  as  we  contemplate  their  mental  aberration 
and  wasted  energy  in  such  a  hopeless  delusion  that 
benefits  no  one,  and  yet  the  Hindu  regards  him  not 
only  as  perfectly  sane,  but  as  a  very  superior  and  holy 
individual.  It  is  difficult  for  us  to  overestimate  the 
hardship  endured  by  many  of  those  devotees,  yet  the 
history  of  Christianity  can  furnish  numerous  examples 
of  saints  gone  equally  mad  under  the  influence  of  some 
strange  delusion. 

It  was  a  long  time  in  making  the  forty-seven  m-lee  to 
the  Puri  station  and  when  we  arrived  the  pilgrims 
harried  out  of  the  crowded  cars  and  trudged  along  on 
foot  for  several  mil «  to  the  city.  The  sun  was  sink- 
ing below  the  horizon  and  we  lost  no  time  in  preparing 
for  the  remainder  of  our  journey.    With  the  assistance 


III 


•3!]  ;i   liii 


44    The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  ir  India 

of  the  ever  obliging  station  master  we  secured  the  only 
available  vehicle,  the  forbidding  buUock  cart,  without 
springs,  and  that  jolted  us  from  one  side  to  the  other 
over  the  rough  road  whenever  the  driver  had  his 
animal  go  faster  than  a  walk.  But  there  was  no  alter- 
native except  to  grin  and  bear  it 

We  were  to  spend  the  night  at  the  dak-bungalow 
and  the  distance  seemed  much  greater  owing  to  the 
kte  hour  and  the  tedious  drive.  By  the  use  of  signs 
and  money  of  the  realm  that  always  talks  in  every 
language,  the  bullock  took  on  new  energy ;  but  the  ac- 
celerated speed  only  increased  our  agony  and  I  was  as 
ready  to  pay  him  to  follow  his  accustomed  pace.  Far 
off  in  the  distance  on  the  right  we  saw  the  glimmer  of 
a  few  lights  that  indicated  human  habitations,  but  we 
were  not  going  in  that  direction. 

In  time  we  neared  the  Bay  of  Bengal  and  then  we 
were  cheered  by  the  appearance  of  an  unmistakable 
Christian  edifice,  a  light  gray  stone  chapel  that  waa 
highly  suggestive.    Near  by  was  the  huge  bungalow, 
and  the  bark  of  a  dog  and  the  call  of  our  driver  brought 
the  caretaker  from  his  humble  dwellings.    He  had  his 
appointment  from  the  government  and  was  held  re- 
sponsible for  the  faithful  performance  of  his  duty  in 
providing  good  food  and  caring  for  native  and  foreign 
travellers,  who  before  leaving  wrote  their  impressions 
in  the  public  book  and  in  languages  that  he  could  not 
read.    We  arranged  for  our  lodgings  and  gave  the 
order  for  our  dinner  which  was  prepared  in  a  very 
primitive  manner,  with  all  outdoors  for  a  kitchen,  and 
yet  that  caretaker  was  a  bom  cook,  and  in  a  short  time 
we  were  enjoying  an  excellent  dinner  consisting  of 

soup,  omelette,  v^tables,  chicken  and  dessert  with 


^ 

H^ 


a 

S 


»^"i 


HI  I  .ii 


1  hiy 


\       '' 


f       l>  iil 


The  God  Juggernaut  (Jagannath)  at  Puri    45 

tea.  It  was  prepared  within  half  an  hour  and  it  took 
less  than  that  time  to  eat  it,  and  we  felt  far  better 
than  when  we  arrived,  for  then  a  feeling  of  unusual 
loneliness  and  misgiving  came  over  us. 

It  was  a  solitary  place,  away  from  Western  dvilia- 
tion,  and  even  the  missionary  had  gone  brck  to  Engknd 
and  the  church  was  closed.  The  hinguage  was  a 
strange  one  and  there  was  no  interpreter,  and  we  knew 
only  sufficient  words  to  order  a  meal.  Surely  it  was  no 
place  to  be  sick,  and  in  our  reverie  the  suggestion  came 
from  my  companion  of  travel-  for  years :  "  Suppose 
something  would  happen  ?  »  With  a  snule  I  replied : 
"  But  nothing  is  going  to  happen." 

I  confess  that  never  before  did  I  feel  so  lonely,  nor 
did  I  so  keenly  realize  the  actual  situation,  but  I  kept 
it  to  myself  and  I  walked  away  to  examine  the  bunga- 
low and  its  surroundings,  and  I  got  a  point  of  view 
that  was  glorious  and  aU  my  feelings  were  changed 
and  I  hastened  to  communicate  them  to  my  companion. 
I  said  with  enthusiasm :  «  Cheer  up  and  come  with  me 
for  I  have  just  seen  something  that  will  inspire  you,  for 
we  have  seen  it  again  and  again  at  home."    Of  oourae 
she  protested  that  I  was  only  speaking  for  effect,  but 
together  we  walked  around  the  comer  of  that  building 
in  which  we  were  to  lodge  for  the  night,  and  just 
across  the  bay,  and  some  degrees  above  the  surface  of 
the  water  was  that  same  old  bright  silver  moon,  and 
we  laughed  heartily  as  we  looked  into  that  familiar 
smilmg  face  that  we  had  witnessed  so  often  at  home, 
and  we  were  comforted  with  the  thought  that  God  our 
heavenly  Father  was  with  us.    After  reflecting  upon 
the  magnificent  view  we  realized  our  keen  appetite  and 
we  relished  our  dinner  without  further  anxiety. 


; 


\j:^ 


'ihi 


' 


.ill 


4       i 


\ 


■ii 


■) 


46    The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

Later  the  unexpected  happened,  for  one  of  the  Chrit- 
tian  oonvertB  who  spoke  a  working  English  appeared 
and  through  his  kind  assistance  I  arranged  to  have  a 
two  horse  carriage  call  for  us  next  morning  so  that  we 
might  visit  the  city  and  surroundings  with  some  degree 
of  comfort,— and  we  felt  much  relieved  and  grateful 
for  this  timely  visitor.    We  were  ready  for  a  night's 
rest,  and  after  making  the  plain  rattan  settees  as  com- 
fortable as  possible  with  our  blankets  and  pillows,  and 
seeing  that  all  the  doors  and  windows  were  secure,  with 
a  dim  lamp  in  the  adjoining  room  we  lay  down  to 
sleep.    All  was  still  as  a  mute  and  we  slept  soundly 
until  the  rays  of  the  sun  lighted  up  our  apartments. 
We  relished   an  early  breakfast  and  then  anxiously 
awaited  the  promised  carriage,  which  true  to  the  tradi- 
tions of  the  country  was  one-half  hour  later  than  the 
appointed  time,  but  as  we  had  made  allowance  for  this 
oriental  habit  by  ordering  it  one-half  hour  in  advance 
of  the  time  for  starting  we  were  not  disappointed,  but 
started  on  time.    It  was  a  heavy  old  carriage  that  had 
long  been  in  service  and  no  American  city  would  toler- 
ate it,  for  the  outer  and  inner  appearances  were  decid- 
edly against  it ;  but  as  it  had  springs  and  was  much 
more  comfortable  than  the  cart  of  the  preceding  day 
wb  tried  to  enjoy  it. 

Whilst  the  great  majority  of  the  pilgrims  were  of 
middle  age  and  even  older  most  of  them  walked  rap- 
idly and  showed  no  signs  of  fatigue,  for  no  doubt  their 
step  was  quickened  by  the  thrill  of  enthusiasm  that 
the  goal  was  soon  to  be  reached.  It  is  true  that  some 
of  the  aged  and  infirm  dragged  themselves  along 
slowly,  but  the  vast  majority  appeared  to  be  in  splen- 
did physical  condition  and  their  spirit  was  not  lagging. 


The  God  Juggernaut  (Jagannath)  at  Puri    47 

The  namben  increased  as  we  drove  down  the  main 
street  and  approached  the  great  temple.  On  either 
side  were  seated  the  saints  or  devotees  who  appealed  to 
the  passer-by  for  alms,  and  a  small  cup  of  rice  or  even 
as  little  as  a  tablespoonf ul  was  appreciated,  for  most  of 
the  pilgrims  were  poor  themselves  and  coold  give  but 
little.  However  there  was  a  special  incentive  in  addi- 
tion to  the  inborn  feeling  of  charity,  for  giving  would 
secure  a  blessing,  whilst  withholding  might  involve  a 
curse. 

Sir  William  W.  Hunter,  that  eminent  authority  on 
the  history  of  India,  has  given  us  the  following  valuable 
graphic  account  of  these  pilgrimages  to  the  sacred 
shrine  at  Puri:  "The  name  of  Jagannath  still  draws 
the  faithful  from  a  hundred  provinces  of  India  to  the 
Puri  sands.  This  longing  after  shrines  forms  a  very 
important  feature  in  the  national  character  of  the 
Hindus.  Day  and  night  throughout  every  month  of 
the  year,  troops  of  devotees  arrive  at  Puri,  and  for 
three  hundred  miles  along  the  great  Orissa  road  every 
village  has  its  encampment.  The  party  consists  of 
from  twenty  to  three  hundred  persons. 

"At  the  time  of  the  great  festivals  these  bands 
follow  so  close  as  to  touch  each  other ;  and  a  continuons 
train  of  pilgrims,  many  miles  long,  may  often  be  seen 
on  the  Puri  highroad.  They  march  in  orderly  proces- 
sion, each  party  under  its  spiritual  leader.  At  least 
five-sixths,  and  often  nine-tenths  of  them  are  females. 
Now  a  straggling  band  of  slender,  diminutive  women . 
clothed  in  white  muslin,  and  limping  sadly  along, 
announces  a  pilgrim  company  from  Lower  Bengal ; 
then  a  joyous  retinue  with  flowing  garments  of  bright 
red   or  blue,  trudging  stoutly  forward,  their  noses 


*■* 


i« 


:  1 


I 


* 


48    The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

pierced  with  eUborate  rings,  their  faces  freely  tattooed, 
and  their  hands  encumbered  with  bundles  of  very  dirty 
doth,  proclaims  the  stalwart  female  peasantry  of 
Nortnem  Hindustan.  Ninety-five  out  of  one  hundred 
are  on  foot.  Mixed  with  the  throng  are  devotees  of 
various  sorts,  some  covered  with  ashes,  some  almost 
naked,  some  with  matted,  yellow  stained  hair,  and 
almost  all  with  their  foreheads  streaked  with  red  or 
white,  or  strings  of  beads  round  their  necks,  and  a  stout 
staff  in  their  hands. 

"  Every  now  and  then,  covered  wagons,  drawn  by 
the  high-humped  bullocks  of  Upper  India,  or  by  the 
smaller  breed  of  Bengal,  according  to  the  nationality 
of  the  owner,  creak  past  on  their  wooden  wheels. 
Those  from  the  Northern  provinces  still  bear  traces  of 
the  licentious  Mussuhnan  rule,  by  being  jealously  shut 
up.    The  Bengali  husband,  on  the  other  hand,  keeps 
his  women  good  tempered,  and  renders  pilgrimage 
pleasant,  by  piercing  holes  in  the  wagon-hood,  through 
which  dark  female  eyes  constantly  peep  out.    Then  a 
lady  in  coloured  trousers,  from  some  village  near  Delhi, 
ambles  past  on  a  tiny  pony,  her  husband  submissively 
walking  by  her  side,  and  a  female  domestic,  with  a 
hamper  of  Ganges  water  and  a  bundle  of  dirty  clothes, 
bringing  up  the  rear.    Next  a  great  train  of  palankeens, 
carrying  a  Calcutta  banker  and  his  ladies,  sweeps  past. 
I  met  one  consisting  of  forty  palankeens,  with  three 
hundred  and  twenty  bearers  and  about  fifty  luggage 
carriers  whose  monotonous  chant  made  itself  heard  far 
off  in  the  silent  night. 

"  But  the  greatest  spectacle  is  a  north  country  raja 
with  his  caravan  of  elephants,  camels,  led  horses,  and 
swordsmen,  looking  resigned  and  very  helpless  in  his 


The  God  Juggernaut  (Jagannath)  at  Puri    49 

Mdan  of  itate,  followed  by  all  the  indesoribable  eon. 
fusion,  dirt,  and  noise  of  Indian  loyalty." 

The  pilgrims  gazed  with  curiosity  upon  the  many 
strange  objects  along  the  street,  but  they  hastened  on 
to  the  temple  which  is  surrounded  by  a  high  wall  and 
penetrated  on  each  side  by  a  guarded  entrance  through 
which  streams  of  people  and  animals  were  passing  from 
morning  until  night  The  vast  majority  entered  by 
the  main  and  nearest  gateway  as  the  pilgrims  approach 
the  temple,  and  great  crowds  were  congregated  there 
to  see  the  distinguished  devotees  or  Saddhus  which  had 
their  temporary  quarters  at  this  most  conspicuous  and 
favourable  place  for  attracting  the  attention  of  every 
Hindu,  for  they  were  dependent  upon  the  alms  of 
the  people.  There  they  sat  with  that  indescribable, 
inane  expression — one  which  we  can  never  forget ;  their 
faces  whitened  by  the  holy  ashes  rubbed  over  every 
bare  spot  of  their  body  and  even  the  long  dishevelled 
hair  that  fell  over  their  shoulders  and  breast.  They 
wore  but  little  clothing,  scarcely  as  much  as  the  law 
demands  and  not  as  much  as  decency  requires  for  men 
who  appear  in  public  places. 

Once  some  of  these  devotee  arrogated  to  themselves 
such  extravagant  sanctity  that  the  extremists  denied  that 
there  was  any  obligation  for  them  to  wear  any  clothing 
whatever,  as  did  one  party  of  the  ancient  Jains,  and 
they  went  about  unadorned  in  nature's  garb,  as  the 
primitive  child  of  nature  without  a  shred  of  covering. 
Even  as  late  as  the  annual  festival  of  1 887-1 88S  at 
Allahabad,  on  one  of  the  chief  days  four  hundred  naked 
ascetics  went  in  procession  to  the  river  for  ablutions, 
and  thousands  of  men  and  women  stood  by  in  admira- 
tion, and  some  of  the  overzealous  superstitious  women 


i-'i 


f         :,        % 


50    The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

bowed  and  prostrated  themselves  in  reverence  before 
this  shameful  and  disgusting  spectacle  of  religions 
fanaticism  gone  mad.  The  government  officials  how- 
ever were  more  critical  in  their  discriminations,  for 
they  saw  the  fictitious  character  of  the  preposterous 
claims  of  these  religious  mendicants  as  to  supermundane 
sanctity,  and  they  prohibited  similar  exhibitions  of 
public  indecent  exposures,  although  the  clout,  called  a 
girdle,  is  at  times  so  small  as  to  be  a  disgrace  to 
Hinduism. 

The  great  temple  and  one  hundred  smaller  ones 
within  the  sacred  enclosure  are  surrounded  by  a  quad- 
rangular wall  twenty -two  feet  high  and  about  six  hun- 
dred and  fifty  feet  on  either  side,  each  one  pierced  by  a 
large  gateway.  The  main  entrance  faces  the  east,  and 
is  called  the  Lion  gate  from  the  colossal  stone  lions 
crouching  on  either  side  as  if  guarding  it  against  all  in- 
trusion. Directly  in  front  stands  the  monolithic  pillar 
noted  for  its  age  and  beautiful  carvings  at  the  base. 
With  the  death  of  the  last  ruler  of  the  Lion  line  of 
monarchs  the  worship  of  Siva  became  supplanted  by 
that  of  Vishnu,  and  the  present  temple  was  built  within 
fifty  years  from  the  rise  of  the  new  monarchy  in  1324, 
and  dedicated  to  the  god  Juggernaut  who  is  one  of  the 
incarnations  of  Vishnu.  The  temple  has  an  endow- 
ment that  provides  an  annual  income  of  about  $150,- 
000  and  an  equal  amount  is  supposed  to  be  derived 
from  all  the  other  sources,  for  in  addition  to  the  modest 
contribution  of  the  overzealous  pilgrims  the  rich  give 
large  sums  in  hope  of  special  merit. 

In  the  midst  of  the  numerous  smaller  temples,  rises 
to  the  height  of  nearly  two  hundred  feet  the  con- 
spicuous conical  pagoda,  overtowering  all  the  other 


The  God  Juggernaut  (Jaganiath)  at  Puri    51 

buildings  and  surmounted  by  the  mystic  wbael  and  flag 
of  Vishnu. 

We  are  indebted  to  Dr.  Mitra,  a  Hindu,  for  the  fol- 
lowing reliable  information  regarding  the  holy  precincts 
into  which  Hindus  alone  are  admitted  :  '*  Within  the 
enclosure  or  compound,  and  to  the  right  of  the  flight  of 
steps  loading  up  to  the  great  temple  are  the  buildings 
for  the  sale  of  the  sacred  food  (Mahaprasad)  and  be- 
yond the  large  kitchen  where  the  food  is  prepared. 
Another  inner  wall  encloses  the  temple  and  other 
buildings,  including  the  famous  Buddhist  bo-tree  and 
which  is  supposed  to  possess  marvellous  virtues,  for  the 
Eapila  Sanhita  says:  'Whoever  stands  under  the 
shadow  of  this  tree  immediately  clears  himself  from 
sin  of  killing  Brahmans.  Of  him  who  walks  round  the 
tree  and  then  worships  it,  Hari  remits  all  the  sins  com- 
mitted in  the  course  of  one  hundred  generations.' 
Close  by  is  an  open  pillared  choultry  or  hall  of  salva- 
tion, where  pundits  daily  assemble  to  expound  the 
Shastras.  There  are  in  addition  about  fifty  small 
shrines  of  gods  and  goddesses,  as  different  incarnations 
from  Vishnu,  Lakshmi,  Siva,  Hanuman,  Oanesa,  etc. 

"  The  great  temple  includes  four  distinct  buildings 
opening  one  into  the  other.  In  the  first  and  opposite 
the  Lion  gate  the  food  prepared  by  the  temple  cooks  is 
presented  before  the  idol,  after  which  it  is  sold  as  holy. 
The  next  is  the  dancing  hall  for  the  musicians  and  the 
dancing  girls  to  amuse  the  god.  Beyond  is  the  audi- 
ence chamber  where  the  pilgrims  are  allowed  to  look 
through  the  door  into  the  shrine  beyond  and  see  the 
god.  A  bar  of  sandal  wood  prevents  entrance,  but  per- 
sons paying  largely  are  allowed  to  cross  the  bar  and 
enter  the  shrine.    Those  having  special  permits,  which 


fS 


52    The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

cost  from  600  rupees  to  5,000,  enter  by  the  sacred 
gate,  and  have  the  right  of  entermg  the  sanctum  or 
holy  place.  Th(  sanctum  is  so  dark  that  without  the 
aid  of  a  lamp  nothing  is  visible." 

No  doubt  this  adds  to  the  mystery  and  the  "  priests 
of  the  temple  persuade  the  pilgrims  that  it  is  on  ac- 
count of  their  sins  that  they  cannot  see  the  divinity. 
When  they  remain  in  the  sanctum  for  a  little  time  sin 
is  destroyed  by  devotion  and  the  divinity  becomes 
visible."  Hov/ever  it  is  owing  to  the  fact  that  they 
have  suddenly  entered  from  the  glaring  sun  and  time 
is  necessary  for  the  dilated  pupils  to  expand. 

The  three  sacred  images  are  made  of  the  close  grained 
Nim  wood  and  their  preservation  during  the  centuries 
is  owing  to  the  peculiar  bitterness  that  protects  it 
against  all  insects.    The  rude  images  are  made  of  a 
solid  block,  and  are  hideous  caricatures  of  the  human 
figure,  without  hands  or  legs.    The  images  of  Jugger- 
naut  and  his  brother  are  each  about  six  feet  high  and 
the  former  is  painted  black  and  the  latter  white.    The 
statue  of  the  sister  is  but  four  and  one-half  feet  and  the 
colour  is  golden.    Together  they  occupy  a  place  on  a 
long  platform  throughout  the  year  until  they  are  taken 
out  during  the  car  festival  season.    Each  one  is  pro- 
vided with  an  extensive  and  varied  wardrobe  and  their 
dress  is  frequently  changed,  and  these  rude  unages  are 
greatly  improved  by  hanng  the  most  of  their  imper- 
fections covered. 

The  chief  place  of  distinction  among  all  the  attend- 
ants is  that  of  the  sweeper,  who  strange  to  say  is  the 
raja  of  Khurda,  for  this  office  is  hereditary  with  the 
royal  house  of  Orissa,  although  the  social  position  of 
sweepers  elsewhere  in  India  as  a  class  is  a  low  and 


The  God  Juggernaut  (Jagannath)  at  Puri    53 

despised  one.  However,  the  great  god  Juggernaut 
changes  all  customs  at  Puri.  There  we  find  what  is 
unique  in  Hinduism  and  which  is  in  contradiction  to 
what  is  taught  and  practiced  throughout  the  country, 
namely,  the  disregard  of  all  caste.  The  explanation  is 
that  Juggernaut  makes  the  place  so  pure  that  no  low 
caste  nor  outcaste  can  make  the  place  ceremonially  im- 
pure, and  the  food  placed  before  the  image  is  rendered 
so  holy  that  no  Brahman  can  be  contaminated  by  eat- 
ing it  with  the  low  caste,  not  merely  with  the  respect- 
able Sudra,  but  with  the  despised  Panchama.  There 
can  bo  no  taint  although  cooks  from  the  lowest  castes 
prepared  it  in  the  culinary  department,  for  the  goddess 
T^Vahmi  superintended  its  preparation  and  even  tasted 
it,  and  hence  no  mort''l  need  hesitate  to  eat,  and  it  is 
sold  indis^riminately  t:  U  classes  and  they  suffer  from 
no  law  of  caste  though  they  partake  of  it  with  the  out- 
castes. 

Inasmuch  as  several  thousand  at  least  are  connected 
with  the  maintenance  of  this  elaborate  temple  establish- 
ment, including  priests,  cooks,  attendants  and  travel- 
ling agents,  a  large  revenue  is  necessary.  But  they 
have  great  treasures  of  wealth  contributed  by  rich 
patrons  in  addition  to  the  receipts  from  ordinary 
pilgrims. 

Had  not  the  purposes  of  Ranjit  Singh  miscarried, 
this  temple  would  contain  the  richest  single  gem  in  the 
world  for  he  bequeathed  the  famous  Kohinoor  diamond 
to  the  shrine  of  Juggernaut  with  the  hope  of  obtaining 
untold  meritorious  blessings,  though  his  life  was  far 
from  blameless  and  at  Lahore  we  saw  the  celebrated 
monument  of  this  once  noted  maharajah  of  the  Sikhs, 
commemorating  himself  as  well  as  his  numerous  wives 


\l. 


54    The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

and  ooQcobines  who  ascended  his  funeral  pyre  and 
suffered  self-immolation.  Fortunately  this  priceless 
diamond  was  diverted  from  its  intended  mission  and  it 
found  its  way  into  the  English  Crown,  a  far  more  ap- 
propriate and  magnificent  setting  than  the  hideous 
image  of  Juggernaut.  In  the  Tower  of  London  in  the 
midst  of  other  historic  treasures  it  is  not  only  securely 
guarded,  but  it  may  be  seen  to  the  beet  advantage  in  a 
well-lighted  place  and  by  all  men  and  women  irre- 
spective of  race,  rank  or  religion,  for  all  are  freely 
admitted  regardless  of  social  standing,  although  the 
line  of  exclusion  would  be  drawn  against  the  favoured 
animals  that  have  the  right  of  way  at  Purl 

In  order  that  we  may  the  more  clearly  appreciate 
the  character  of  the  Juggernaut  we  need  to  remember 
his  position  among  the  gods.  Vishnn  as  the  Preserver 
is  one  of  the  most  popular  gods  in  the  Hindu  Triad  and 
is  generally  represented  as  a  black  being  with. four 
arms,  for  it  is  common  to  add  a  number  of  extra  anns 
to  the  deities  to  symbolize  their  potency.  Of  the  nine 
incarnations  of  Vishnu,  Krishna  was  the  eighth,  a  pre- 
eminently popular  divinity  among  the  people  of  India 
to-day,  and  one  of  his  manifestations  is  that  of  Jugger- 
naut, who  has  the  supreme  place  in  the  minds  and 
hearts  of  many  millions.  According  tp  the  account  of 
some,  Puri  owes  its  origin  to  legendary  claims  con- 
nected with  the  fatal  arrow  that  killed  Krishna  and 
whose  bones  were  allowed  to  remain  for  some  time  ex- 
posed under  the  tree  where  he  fell,  until  a  pious  monk 
discovered  them  and  gave  them  a  worthy  resting-place. 
Later  the  king  Indradhumna,  who  sought  to  propitiate 
Vishnu,  was  told  to  make  an  image  and  plaee  the.  bones 
inside  of  it,  and  he  would  be  richly  rewarded  for  hj^ 


S      ' 


The  Grod  Juggernaut  (Jagannath)  at  Puri    ^^ 


labours,  and  he  secured  the  architect  of  the  gods  to 
make  the  image. 

Certain  legends  of  their  sacred  writings  state  that 
one  of  their  holy  men  as  a  pilgrim  had  seen  "  an  in- 
imitable image  of  Vishnu  in  sapphire  "  at  Puri  and  he 
reported  it  to  Indiadhumna  who  hastened  thither  to 
pay  his  devotions  to  the  wonderful  image.  On  his 
arrival  he  was  greatly  disappointed  to  learn  that  it  had 
mysteriously  disappeared  beneath  the  sandy  shore. 
However  he«was  encouraged  by  the  assurance  that  if 
he  should  offer  a  great  sacrifice  other  images  of  equal 
merit  would  be  given  him.  He  was  directed  to  a  float- 
ing_log  qf  Nim_ jrood,  and  "a  very  aged  man  much 
afflicted  with  elephantiasis  "  finally  prevailed  upon  the 
king  to  be  permitted  to  fashion  the  log  into  the  promised 
images,  and  on  condition  that  no  one  should  be  per- 
mitted to  enter  nor  peep  into  his  room  for  twenty-one 
days.  That  was  too  much  for  the  raja's  patience  and 
especially  for  his  wife's  curiosity,  and  becoming  im- 
patient with  the  delay  and  unable  to  withstand  the 
constant  jeerings  of  his  wife,  he  broke  into  the  work- 
shop on  the  fifteenth  day,  when  he  discovered  the  three 
rude  and  unfinished  wood  images  but  their  divine 
sculptor  had  suddenly  vanished.  The  raja  bitterly 
regretted  his  intrusion  and  suffered  great  remorse  for 
he  was  convinced  that  the  aged  man  wad  none  other 
than  the  god  Yisvakarma,  and  hence  these  rude  images 
are  so  gl-eatly  revered. 

It  is  true  that  uny  ordinary  sculptor  without  super- 
human aid  could  ha\e  produced  superior  images  and  in 
less  time,  but  the  raja's  faith  was  not  disturbed  by  such 
a  trifling  fact  and  he  began  at  once  to  build  a  suitable 
temple,  and  with  the  marvellous  revelation  made  in 


:  I 


56    The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

connection  with  the  making  of  the  images,  henceforth 
Pari  became  a  holy  place  and  the  most  sacred  shrine 
for  pilgrimages. 

The  learned  Vishnuite  scholar,  Dr.  Mitra,  who  made 
a  special  study  of  the  ten'^Ie,  believes  that  the  car  festi- 
val of  Juggernaut  is  a  relic  of  a  Buddhist  procession. 
Undoubtedly  Puri  owes  much  of  its  religious  sanctity 
to  its  earlier  association  with  Buddhism,  for  it  was  once 
one  of  its  chief  centres,  and  according  to  a  legend  a 
magnificent  temple  was  erected  here  by  a  king  m  which 
to  place  the  revered  tooth  that  had  been  rescued  from 
the  funeral  pyre  of  Buddha  by  one  of  his  devoted  fol- 
lowers, and  from  that  circumstance  the  city  waa  called 
P.anlapura,  "  the  cijty  of  the  tooth." 

Some  centuries  later,  or  about  300  a.  d.,  when  the 
kingdom  was  threatened  by  war  and  the  king  being 
anxious  for  the  sacred  relic  of  Buddha  that  up  to  this 
time  had  been  securely  treasured  in  the  temple,  de- 
livered it  to  his  daughter  who  concealed  it  in  her  hau: 
and  hastened  with  it  to  the  Isle  of  Ceylon  for  safe 
preservation,  and  where  for  a  long  time  it  has  been 
kept  as  a  most  sacred  treasure  in  the  richest  jewelled 
casket  on  earth. 

A  brief  digression  to  Kandy  will  not  be  inappropriate 
because  of  the  transferrence  of  the  holy  relic,  inasmuch 
as  for  centuries  it  was  not  only  inseparably  connected 
with  the  sacred  shrine  at  Puri  when  Buddhism  was  the 
dominant  religion  in  India,  but  it  was  the  most  potent 
if  not  the  sole  object  that  attracted  the  countless  number 
of  pilgrims  because  of  the  untold  merit  that  was  in  store 
for  all  who  might  gaze  upon  the  priceless  relic,  for  the 
fabulous  stories  of  its  wonder-working  power  almost 
rivalled  those  of  Aladdin's  lamp.    We  can  easily  im- 


l   li 


ii 


The  God  Juggernaut  (Jagannath)  at  Puri    57 


agme  the  wild  enthosiasm  of  the  pilgrims  at  Fori,  for 
we  witnessed  a  wonderful  exhibition  of  Boddhist  de- 
votion to  that  tooth  in  the  temple  at  Kandy. 

It  was  an  unusual  occasion  and  many  notable  persons 
from  that  stronghold  of  Buddha  in  Burma  had  made 
the  pilgrimage,  including  many  women  of  equal  rank. 
Their  coming  had  been  heralded  and  great  prepara- 
tions had  been  made  and  thousands  of  the  Sin^ese 
had  been  attracted  from  the  country  and  all  the  avail- 
able space  in  the  open  square  about  the  temple  was 
crowded  with  an  expectant  multitude,  whose  privilege 
wad  limited  by  merely  seeing  the  favoured  few  who 
were  permitted  to  enter  on  the  memorable  day.  They 
had  to  content  themselves  with  a  look  at  a  facsimile 
under  a  glass  case  in  the  town  museum.  Our  anxiety 
was  intense  for  we  had  been  promised  admission  and 
we  occupied  our  reserved  place  for  some  time  before 
the  few  dignitaries  came  and  whom  we  were  to  follow 
into  the  most  holy  shrine.  It  was  not  merely  to  satisfy 
a  prurient  curiosity  to  look  upon  the  fictitious  tooth, 
but  it  was  the  history,  devotion,  wealth  of  consecration 
and  the  unme<«sured  influence  connected  with  that  ob- 
ject throughout  the  Far  East  that  appealed  to  us  and 
stimulated  our  desire  to  enter  the  sanctum  sanctorum 
of  Buddhism,  and  in  imagination  we  had  visions  of  past 
centuries  as  the  countless  millions  of  pilgrims  passed  in 
review. 

We  experienced  a  peculiar  sensation  as  we  were  led 
through  the  narrow  passageway  and  txien  entered  the 
small  chambers — a  very  holy  of  holies  to  the  Bud- 
dhist believer.  There  was  not  a  sound  from  the  outer 
world  and  the  stillness  was  profound,  for  no  one  spoke 
and  the  prolonged  silence  became  oppressive  because  of 


58    The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

its  sigoifioant  uncertainty.  In  the  centre  of  this  inner 
sanctuary  stood  a  unique  golden  ornament,  wrought  hy 
some  skillful  designer  of  the  once  famous  ancient  Sin- 
galese  art  It  was  conical  in  form,  about  thirty  inches 
in  height  and  probably  twelve  inches  in  diameter  and 
enclosed  the  sacred  relic,  but  no  key  was  produced  and 
not  one  of  the  priests  approached  to  unlock  the  treas- 
ure. The  silence  became  ominous  and  we  appealed  to 
the  most  commanding  person  present,  the  keeper  of  the 
shrine  and  the  master  of  ceremonies,  for  our  only  hope 
was  in  him.  There  he  stood  like  a  giant  Saul,  tower- 
ing head  and  shoulders  over  the  priests,  wearing  a 
singularly  unique  uniform  and  besoing  an  enormous 
sta^  as  the  symbol  of  authority.  He  must  win  the  at- 
tending priests  to  a  man,  for  each  one  held  a  key  that 
alone  could  unlock  a  particular  golden  cover  and  which 
must  be  removed  in  order  before  the  next  one  could  be 
reached  and  the  tooth  finally  exposed  to  view. 

The  Oriental  is  never  in  a  hurry  and  the  usual  pre- 
liminaries were  necessary  to  adjust  the  amount  to  be 
paid  for  the  rare  privilege  accorded  us,  and  then  all 
smiled  approval  and  one  after  another  advanced  to  the 
altar  and  with  key  in  hand  slowly  unlocked  the  outer 
covering.  The  enthusiasm  increased  as  each  cover  was 
removed,  for  they  improved  in  quality,  and  the  two 
inner  ones  were  of  solid  gold,  and  closely  studded  with 
the  costliest  precious  8tones,^-emeralds,  rubies  and 
diamonds.  There  was  a  breathless  suspense  when  the 
last  golden  conical  cover  was  lifted  and  we  gazed  in- 
tently upon  the  small  piece  of  ivory,  standing  upright 
from  the  base  of  a  golden  receptacle,  with  a  narrow 
rim  and  which  may  have  been  suggestive  of  the  lotus, 
but  not  resembling  it.    I  mention  this  in  detail  for 


i   .1 


The  Grod  Juggernaut  (Jagannath)  at  Pari    59 

whilst  the  tooth  in  the  miueum  is  a  facsimile  it  is  held 
in  a  horizontal  position  by  a  wire  fastened  in  the  lotns, 
bat  the  original  rises  from  the  bottom  of  the  small 
golden  vessel  and  stands  in  a  vertical  position. 

The  pictures  that  I  have  seen  have  evidently  been 
made  from  the  copy  in  the  museom,  for  I  saw  the 
original  in  a  clear  light  and  scrutinized  it  carefully  and 
could  not  be  mistaken.  I  am  also  persuaded  that  it  is 
not  a  genuine  tooth  from  Buddha  for  it  is  much  too 
large,  and  civilized  men  have  not  been  found  with  a 
tooth  of  that  size  and  shape.  Evidently  it  was  not 
grown  in  the  jaw  of  any  mortal  but  taken  from  some 
animal  and  most  likely  from  the  hippopotamus. 

Returning  to  the  Juggernaut  car  procession  at  Puri 
it  is  important  to  correct  a  very  common  erroneous  im- 
pression, and  which  we  hear  frequently  repeated  re- 
specting the  alleged  self-immolation  as  a  prominent 
feature  of  the  festival  and  which  is  said  to  be  encour- 
aged by  the  priests.  Inasmuch  as  the  god  Juggernaut 
is  of  another  form  of  Vishnu  who  was  not  only  the 
Preserver  of  men  but  one  of  the  gentlest  of  all  the 
gods,  it  is  an  unauthorized  misrepresentation  to  charac- 
terize Juggernaut  as  the  Moloch  of  India,  and  that  be- 
neath the  wheels  of  his  ponderous  car  the  lives  of  many 
of  his  devotees  have  been  crushed  out..  Had  this 
charge  been  made  against  Siva,  the  Destroyer,  or  his 
blood-thirsting  wife  Kali,  then  there  might  have  been 
a  semblance  of  excuse,  but  there  is  none  for  making 
the  god  Juggernaut  and  his  car  a  synonym  or  figure 
of  speech  for  the  most  cruel  slaughter  of  human  beings, 
and  intelligent  people  repeat  it  with  a  feeling  of  shock- 
ing abhorrence.  The  slander  is  not  deliberate  but  only 
due  to  false  impression  of  the  old  and  oft  repeated 


I 


!    W' 


i  i 


^:i^ 


•       5 


\      \l 


60    The  God  Ju^emaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

■toiy,  for  80  Mored  is  the  life  of  an  ordinary  animal  to 
the  god  Vishnu,  that  his  followers  condemn  the  sacri- 
fice of  the  goats  that  are  made  to  Kali,  and  how  in- 
finitely more  abhorrent  it  would  be  to  sacrifice  human 

beings! 

Undoubtedly  accidents  have  occurred  during  the  car 
procession  when  as  many  as  100,000  pilgrims  come  to- 
gether, just  as  lives  have  been  sacrificed  by  attending  au- 
tomobile races,  but  the  lives  lost  were  accidental  and  it 
would  be  unjust  to  charge  us  with  religious  self-immola- 
tion, although  at  times  guilty  of  culpable  neglect.     In 
like  manner  accidents  must  at  times  occur  at  the  car 
processions  at  Puri,  owing  to  the  vast  number,  and  un- 
controlled enthusiasm  of  several  thousand  tugging  at  the 
ropes  to  draw  the  ponderous  oar,  which  goes  by  fits  and 
starts,  and  no  wonder  if  some  deaths  at  times  occur 
through  carelessness  or  when  overcome  by  weakness  or 
sunstroke.    India  is  a  hot  country  and  during  the  festi- 
val season  the  heat  is  intense  and  it  would  not  be  strange 
if  the  minds  of  some  fanatics  would  become  affected 
and  occasionally  a  suicide  might  result,  as  in  our  coun- 
try, but  we  must  not  charge  it  up  to  the  account  of 
Juggernaut  as  encouraging  it.    We  have  an  appalling 
number  of  suicides,  even  among  the  intelligent  and 
well-toHio  class.    The  fact  is  that  Sir  William  Hunter, 
who  spent  many  years  in  India,  made  a  most  careful 
examination  of  all  the  available  records  on  the  subject 
since   the  fourteenth  century,  i.nd  they  prove  that 
whilst  such  suicides  rarely  occurred  they  were  not  in- 
spired by  the  religion  of  Juggernaut. 

Whilst  the  pilgrims  in  their  early  enthusiasm  seek  an 
opportunity  'o  assist  in  drawing  the  car,  owing  to  feel- 
ings of  devotion  and  the  expected  merit  for  such  an 


iu 


The  God  Juggernaut  (Jagannath)  at  Puri    6l 

aotioD,  there  is  a  special  reserve  of  several  thooaand  for 
any  emei^ncy,  and  who  are  to  complete  the  proces-  ] 
sioD.  Many  hoars  are  required  as  well  as  strength  to 
drag  the  enormous  car  which  rests  upon  sixt^n  heavy 
wheels  .Qi_golid  wgod,  seve^,  ,feet  jn  diameter.  The 
distance  to  be  made  is^less  than  a  mile  but  that  broad 
and  crowded  street  through  which  the  procession  moves 
is  not  a  brick  or  asphalt  pavement,  and  if  it  were  a 
macadam  road  the  progress  would  not  be  so  slow  and 
difficult,  but  it  is  often  through  the  deep  sand  into 
which  the  wheels  sink  and  it  is  with  the  greatest 
difficulty  at  times  that  they  are  able  to  move  the  car. 

At  such  a  time  the  4»000  men  reserved  for  the  pur- 
pose pull  at  the  ropes  with  their  united  strength.  Be- 
set with  such  difficulties,  several  days  may  elapse 
during  the  procession  to  the  Garden  JEoose  at  the  end 
of  the  avenue.  But  there  is  too  much  variety  for 
monotony  in  the  barbaric  splendour  of  the  festival,  for 
they  strive  to  give  spectacular  effect  and  to  captivate 
the  minds  of  the  pilgrims  who  crowd  the  great 
thoroughfare.  Many  prostrate  themselves  and  with 
the  wildest  fanaticism  st[out  the  jiame  of  their  god  > 
J.qggegaut  as  they  behold  the  image  borne  on  the  car. 
The  priests  are  the  masters  of  ceremony  and  they  see 
that  the  excitement  is  kept  up  by  the  beating  of  drums 
and  clashing  of  cymbals.  Even  the  women  at  times  tug 
at  the  ropes,  and  where  there  are  so  many  old  fanatics 
the  wonder  is  that  the  deaths  are  not  more  frequent. 

In  former  years  the  sufferings  and  mortality  at  Pari 
were  much  greater,  owing  to  the  utter  disregard  of  the 
laws  of  sanitation,  the  lack  of  proper  food,  lodgings, 
hospitals  and  medical  attendance.  These  evils  hare 
been  remedied  to  some  extent  at  Pari  and  at  places  on 


\' 


■ 


62    The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

the  KMuU  traversed  by  the  pilgrims,  and  yet  with  all 
the  improved  conditions,  the  overcrowding  daring  the 
festival  seasons  means  much  hardship  for  the  poverty 
stricken  class  and  the  mortality  is  great 

It  may  be  well  in  passing  to  correct  the  extravagant 
reports  respecting  the  great  antiquity  of  the  records 
contained  in  the  temple.    Certain  advocates  claim  that 
they  have  old  manuscripts  that  give  an  unbroken  list 
of  the  kings  of  Orissa  from  the  beginning  of  the  Kali 
age  in  8102  b.  0.  to  a.  d.  1871,  with  much  detail 
These  palm  leaf  archives  are  treasured  in  the  temple 
but  a  critical  examination  of  them  by  scholars  has 
shown  them  to  be  utterly  unreliable  anterior  to  1100 
A.  D.    The  tenaplp  was  built  during  the  latter  part  of 
the  eleventh,  century  and  the  early  jprtion  of  the 
twelfth.    With''all  the  strange  history  and  rebgious 
devotion  associated  with  the  holy  temple  at  Puri  and 
the  image  of  the  god  Juggernaut  that  is  housed  within 
the  sacred  precincts,  it  is  not  strange  that  we  should 
have  had  an  ardent  desire  to  approach  the  mystic 
shrine  and  look  upon  the  effigy  of  the  great  Lord  of 
the  World  who  for  centuries  had  wielded  such  a  mighty 
attractive  power  over  his  Bullions  of  adherents,  who 
,  with  unfaltering  faith  are  annually  drawn  from  every 
part  of  Bengal  and  from  distant  quarters  of  the  empire. 
With  few  exceptions  we  had  been  freely  admitted  to 
the  temples  throughout  the  Far  East,  for  the  Jains 
and  Mohammedans  had  certain  reservations,  and  the 
Parseee  not  only  practice  the  absolute  exclusive  act 
but  80  construct  a  wall  in  front  of  their  temple  that 
you  cannot  obtain  so  much  as  a  glance  through  the 
portal.    We  did  not  anticipate  any  difficulty  at  Pari, 
where  caste  distinctions  are  practically  ignored,  and 


! 


ITie  God  Juggernaut  (Jagannath)  at  Puri    63 

the  .ery  loum  of  humanity,  including  the  loweetof 
the  Fanohama,  are  admitted,  and  the  poorest  elbow 
their  way  among  the  surging  crowd,  and  even  bulls, 
cows  and  monkeys  have  the  right  of  way  and  pass 
throogh  the  gateway  without  interruption,  although 
moved  by  no  religious  motive,  llence  as  we  observed 
the  motley  crowd  of  the  animal  kingdom  entering 
without  any  protest  from  the  temple  officials,  we 
never  imagined  that  they  would  make  the  invidious 
distinction  when  we  attempte:'  to  enter.  In  fact  we 
took  it  for  granted  that  we  were  among  the  eligibles 
as  we  followed  the  nondescript  crowd  towards  the 
Lion's  gate,  for  all  men,  women  and  beasts  had  been 
freely  admitted. 

There  are  times,  as  the  traveller  has  learned  from 
experience,  when  it  is  policy  to  presume  upon  one's 
ignorance  and  take  it  for  granted  that  you  are  not  de- 
barred, for  whilst  it  inspires  you  with  confidence  to 
gain  admission,  it  disarms  the  objector  who  is  too  much 
embarrassed  to  turn  out  the  courteous  and  well  mean- 
ing traveUer  in  search  of  knowledge.  However,  in 
this  instance  I  had  presumed  too  much  upon  tho  native 
courtesy  and  apathy  in  the  local  requirements  of  the 
observance  of  their  ancient  custom,  for  we  did  not 
escape  those  lynx-eyed  masters  of  the  caste  system  who 
easily  discerned  our  foreign  pedigree,  and  several  of 
them  stopped  us  when  within  twenty  feet  of  the  portal, 
for  at  that  distance  the  presence  of  a  foreigner  was 
supposed  to  be  safe,  but  nearer  would  mean  pollution. 

These  sticklers  for  such  religious  proprieties  have 
developed  a  keen  scent  for  discriminating  between  the 
clean  and  the  unclean,  the  elect  and  the  outcaste  and 
the  exact  distance  at  which  the  presence  of  the  latter 


\i 


^  ^ 


.      il 


'''-  ,1 


64    The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

would  ORUM  ceremonial  poUution  to  their  exolunve  set, 
and  temple  aet  apart  for  their  own  benefit,  whilst  all 
the  wat  of  the  world  of  humanity  must  be  excluded. 
I  reasoned  with  them  and  they  listened  with  all  that 
patience  and  courtesy  that  for  centuries  has  chanwter- 
ized  the  Hindus,  but  to  all  my  earnest  appeals  the 
master  of  ceremonies  answered  with  that  one  ominous 
word:    "Impossible!"  although    he   expressed    him- 
self as  very  sorry,  but  custom  had  so  decreed  it.    I 
assured  him  that  we  were  entitled  to  enter,  for  I  was 
not  only  his  brother  man,  but  a  high  caste  Brahman, 
being  a  lineal  descendant  of  his  Aryr.n  ancestors  and 
that  it  was  an  unjust  and  invidious  distinction  to  admit 
every  native  regardless  of  caste,  social  distinction  or 
moral  character,  and  even  the  descendants   of   the 
aboriginal  Dravidian  races  were  not  excluded.    This 
argument  had  no  weight  whatever,  for  keen  as  the 
mind  of  the  educated  Brahmar  's  for  metaphysical 
speculation,  he  has  little  knowledge  of  history,  and 
hence  he  could  not  appreciate  Tjy  claim  to  rektion- 
ship,  and  I  abandoned  aU  hope  of  entering  at  the 

Lion's  gate. 

1  was  encouraged  by  an  attendant  to  go  to  one  of  the 
minor  gateways  where  entrance  might  be  obtained  and 
no  questions  asked.  I  rewarded  him  for  the  valuable 
information,  and  we  followed  the  street  around  the  en- 
closure  that  is  safeguarded  from  all  profane  intrusion  of 
the  unclean  by  a  massive  wall  about  twenty  feet  in  height. 
The  first  gate  that  we  approached  was  closed  and  we 
hastened  to  the  one  on  the  side  opposite  the  Lion's  gate. 
Fortunately  we  met  the  treasurer  of  the  temple  at  this 
entrance,  a  fine  looking  and  well  proportioned  specimen 
of  humanity— well  dressed,  and  with  an  unusually  large 


The  God  Juggernaut  (Jagannath)  at  Puri    65 

emerald  in  his  ring.  He  spoke  English  perfectly  and 
BO  did  the  oiiloials  and  some  of  the  priests  about  him. 
He  received  us  most  courteously,  and  among  these 
■elect  Hindus  and  away  from  the  rabble  of  pilgrims,  we 
felt  encouraged.  I  presented  my  card  and  passport  as 
my  credentials  and  told  him  of  my  interest  in  '  '4  coun- 
try, and  that  when  a  boy  I  had  seenp'^  .,  ,  u>  Lhe 
image  of  Juggernaut  and  had  come  the  :<>n<'  iRtHno* 
that  we  might  visit  the  sacred  shrine,  it  sv>  >  u  imi.i 
of  feeling  and  susceptibilities  and  his  s*  it*<  nia  i< 
and  sympathetic  expression   left  n>  's.u  is      r 

doubt,  for  he  declared  himself  as  r  Jt  :i    u  '      -.■    u} 


as  IP 


>Vi' 


our  visit  and  was  anxious  to  favoi 
]x)6sible. 

After  making  duo  allowance  for  the  orient  u  rasvoir 
in  offering  to  share  so  generously  with  >■ ,  '  .  >uld 
scarcely  suppress  my  impatience  with  the  .^.i/  cf 
farther  formalities  and  asked  him  to  admit  us  at  once. 
But  he  reassured  us  that  there  was  no  occasion  for 
haste,  for  ho  like  all  the  Hindus  was  in  no  hurry  even 
though  he  saw  that  we  were.  And  why  should  he  be  ? 
For  he  had  not  merely  a  lifetime  before  him,  but  millions 
more  in  the  countless  rebirths  that  he  must  yet  pass 
through  on  earth,  and  what  he  could  not  do  in  Uiis  brief 
life  he  could  completo  in  the  next  or  succeeding  ones, 
for  practically  all  eternity  was  before  him,  and  before 
his  earthly  careers  would  come  to  an  end.  His  religion 
did  not  seem  to  weigh  heavily  upon  him,  for  he  had  a 
genial  countenance  and  by  his  unusual  avoirdupois  and 
drMS  it  was  evident  that  he  had  never  suffered  from 
fasting  and  bad  not  practiced  the  self-denial  of  the 
ascetic,  but  belonged  to  the  most  prosperous  class  who 
thought  that  life  was  worth  living  and  enjoying. 


,     I 


!   ''• 


f  '1. 


,(  i 


if   ■% 


!       s 


66    The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hipduism  in  India 

It  was  a  warm  day,  and  as  my  time  in  India  wat 
more  limited  than  his  I  could  scarcely  maintain  my 
composure,  and  the  effort  made  my  temperature  rise, 
and  I  pressed  my  claim.  He  had  acted  his  part  so  nat- 
urally that  I  was  astonished  when  be  assured  me  that 
he  was  very  sorry  but  their  unchanging  custom  made  it 
impossible  for  a  foreigner  to  enter.  I  reasoned  with 
him  but  in  vain,  and  in  order  to  convince  me  of  his  sin- 
cerity he  related  an  incident  of  a  disguised  European 
who  obtained  entrance  by  this  dishonourable  strategy, 
and  that  it  cost  them  three  hundred  rupees,  or  one  hun- 
dred dollars,  to  purify  the  temple.  He  appealed  to  the 
officials  standing  by  and  they  all  corroborated  his  state- 
ment. 

Whilst  I  could  not  dispute  the  fact,  I  protested  that 
whilst  I  did  not  know  the  polluting  character  of  the 
particular  European  in  question  I  was  conddent  that  in 
my  case  it  certainly  would  not  cost  them  one-half  of  the 
three  hundred  rupees  to  purify  it  from  any  possible 
ceremonial  defilement,  for  I  had  been  in  the  greatest 
temples  on  earth  and  in  not  a  single  instance  was  any 
defilement  entailed,  nor  was  subsequent  purification 
necessary.  They  were  too  courteous  and  adroit  to 
make  the  matter  so  personal,  and  that  I  might  be  right, 
but  they  could  not  incur  the  responsibility. 

Then  I  pressed  the  question:  "Is  this  the  only 
reason  that  you  cannot  allow  us  to  enter?"  They 
frankly  assured  me  that  it  was,  not  suspecting  the  pur- 
pose of  my  question,  for  at  once  I  offered  the  three 
hundred  rupees,  and  insisted  that  we  be  allowed  to  en- 
ter, since  the  only  condition  that  barred  our  entrance, 
according  to  their  own  assurance,  had  been  met.  They 
were  not  prepared  for  this  and  they  showed  their  em- 


I.:     I 


a 


;  « 


The  God  Ju^cmaut  (Jagannath)  at  Puri     67 

barraasment  whilst  I  insbted  upon  the  logical  oonoln- 
sion,  but  they  shook  their  head. 

I  tried  to  reason  with  them  that  there  was  one  Gkxi 
and  Father  of  us  all,  and  hence  all  people  were  His  chil- 
dren and  we  were  brethren,  having  descended  from  the 
same  ancient  Indo-European  stock.  I  reminded  them 
that  America  had  proved  her  interest  in  the  welfare  of 
their  people  by  doing  so  much  for  them,  pouring  mil- 
lions of  dollars  every  year  into  their  country,  as  well  as 
ship-loads  of  provision  during  famine  and  the  scourge  of 
the  bubonic  plague ;  that  we  had  sent  them  many  hun- 
dreds of  nobie  men  and  women  to  labour  for  their  so- 
cial and  moral  as  well  as  religious  betterment ;  that  we 
had  given  them  schools  and  teachors  to  educate  their 
childrer  and  fit  them  for  positions  of  usefulness  ;  that 
we  had  founded  and  equipped  hospitals  for  healing  the 
sick ;  even  without  money  and  without  price  when  too 
poor  to  pay ;  but  led  to  do  all  this  through  the  con- 
straining love  of  Christ.  They  admitted  it  although 
they  did  not  show  any  of  that  enthusiasm  that  a  sense 
of  gratitude  would  inspire. 

I  reminded  them  that  we  made  no  such  invidious  dis- 
tinctions, for  in  all  India  there  was  not  a  Christtan 
church  that  would  exclude  any  of  them,  and  that  if 
they  should  come  to  America  we  would  welcome  them 
into  our  most  magnificent  churches  and  give  them  a 
choice  seat.  Then  the  treanirer  of  the  temple  con- 
ferred with  the  priests  and  my  hopes  revived,  but 
imagine  my  amazement  when  he  assured  us  that  he 
would  like  to  grant  our  request,  but  should  I  enter,  the 
gods  would  kill  roe.  I  replied :  ^'  You  do  not  mean  to 
say  that  those  gods  would  kill  me  if  I  should  a|^)ear  be- 
fore them  ?  "    I  was  assured  that  it  would  be  fatal  and 


^vt--^- 


i     >'•  ■ 


i 


68    The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hindutsm  in  India 

as  proof,  though  not  connncing,  they  stated  that  a 
European  who  entered  the  temple  some  years  ago  fell 
dead  when  he  approached  the  shrine.  Of  course  I 
wanted  to  convince  them  that  their  wooden  gods  were 
harmless  and  that  an  American  would  be  perfectly  safe 
in  their  presence,  and  I  wanted  to  make  the  test  as  I 
moved  towards  the  gateway.  But  they  crossed  my 
path  and  protested  so  decisively  that  I  abandoned  idl 
further  attempt  to  enter. 

Fortunately  there  are  many  excellent  copies  of  these 
images.  I  secured  a  good  sized  one  of  the  famous  Jug- 
gernaut and  which  is  authoritatively  stated  to  be  a 
faithful  reproduction  of  the  original.  This  in  a  meas- 
ure compensates  for  our  disappointment,  for  I  can  see 
and  study  it  in  a  clear  light  and  which  is  denied  to 
those  who  gain  entrance  to  the  shrine  of  the  temple 
and  stand  before  the  sacred  image  that  can  be  only 
faintly  discerned  owing  to  the  dim  light. 

There  was  another  compensation  in  our  disappoint- 
ment, for  as  we  reflected  we  received  vivid  impressions 
nf  the  thrilling  experience  that  the  Apostle  Paul  en- 
countered on  that  memorable  day  in  Jerusalem  wh«i 
the  devout  and  fanatical  Jews  suspected  him  of  having 
taken  Trophirous  of  Ephesus  with  him  into  the  temple, 
thereby  defiling  it  by  the  presence  o*  %  Gentile  or 
foreigner,  and  they  became  an  infuriated  mob  as  they 
rushed  upon  him  and  dragged  him  out  of  the  sanctuary 
and  would  have  torn  him  limb  from  limb  had  not  the 
vigilant  Koman  guard  rushed  into  the  outer  court  and 
rescued  him.  We  had  realistic  visions  of  all  this  as  we 
stood  face  to  face  with  these  overscrupulous  custodians 
of  the  holy  temple  of  Juggernaut  at  Puri  and  who 
would  not  allow  us  to  cross  the  threshold. 


in 


THE  ASCETICS  AND  RELIGIOUS  MENDICANTS 

WHILE  other  nations  and  religions  have  had 
their  ascetics,  in  no  land  has  asceticism 
flourished  to  such  a  baneful  extent  as  in 
India,  and  no  religion  has  produced  such  a  countless 
host  of  devotees  as  Hinduism.  The  evil  has  spread 
like  an  indigenous  contagion  and  found  many  recruits 
among  the  Mohammedans  who  imitate  the  dominant 
religion  in  not  a  few  things.  The  Moslem  ascetics  are 
distinguished  from  the  similar  class  of  Hindus  by  being 
designated  as  fakirs.  Deussen  in  bis  "  Philosophy  of 
the  Upanishads"  says:  "It  is  a  tribute  to  the  high 
metaphysical  capacity  of  the  Indian  people  that  the 
phenomenon  of  asceticism  made  its  appearance  among 
them  earlier  and  occupied  a  larger  place  than  among 
any  other  known  people."  He  refers  to  "  Rig  Veda," 
page  136,  which  "  portrays  the  inspired  Muni  as  with 
long  hair,  in  dirty  yellow  robes,  and  girt  only  with  the 
wind  he  roams  on  the  desert  paths."  Since  then  it  has 
found  a  favourable  soil  for  its  development  into  many 
most  extravagant  forms,  and  if  we  include  all  the  re- 
ligious mendicants  in  this  class  of  unproductive  human- 
ity the  aggregate  numbers  at  least  live  millions. 

Every  observing  traveller  must  become  interested  in 
the  study  of  this  unique  and  ubiquitous  class,  for  we 
iind  them  everywhere  on  the  frequented  roads  or  sit- 
ting in  groups  in  some  secluded  place  about  the  villages 
and  sacred  places,  and  especially  in  front  of  prominent 

69 


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70    The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

temples  where  the  mnltitade  pan,  for  they  do  not  earn 
a  rupee  and  an  dependent  upon  the  charity  of  an  in- 
dulgent peopla  They  are  easily  recognized  by  theur 
conventional  appearance  and  many  by  their  distinctive 
attire  or  lack  of  dress.  Their  ranks  are  filled  by  men 
and  women  who  come  from  the  various  social  strata, 
for  they  are  not  such  sticklers  about  the  rules  of  caste, 
but  high  and  low,  and  even  the  outcaste  who  join  the 
ascetics  may  live  or  exist  together,  although  each  one 
eats  exclusively  from  his  own  bowL  They  have  aban- 
doned all  their  duties  to  the  family,  society  and  state 
and  become  wanderers,  eking  out  a  miserable  and 
worthless  existence.  They  suffer  from  exposure  and 
f  xist  upon  the  scanty  food  doled  out  to  them,  but  they 
rive  nothing  in  return  for  their  self -pauperized  and  un- 
productive life  of  a  social  parasite. 

Many  of  the  Saddhus  or  holy  men  excite  our  deepest 

\nmpaUiy  because  of  the  severe  austerities  that  Uiey 

?«ctice.    Some  of  the  devices  with  which  they  afSict 

themselves  are  so  ingeneous  that  they  seem  to  crave 

V  *  atever  may  make  their  life  most  miserable  and  pain- 

1  Tl-^re  has  been  some  mitigation  of  the  worst 
features  f  torture  during  recent  years,  for  the  British 
gf  rrrti  tnt  nt  placed  a  limit  to  certain  barbaric  practices 
of  their  revolting  fanaticism.  No  doubt  many  of 
these  pitiable  deluded  mortals  are  sincere  in  acting  this 
morbid  drama  of  life,  but  the  vast  majority  may  be 
safely  classed  as  immoral  parasites  and  who  are  pro- 
ductive of  a  brood  of  evils. 

The  self-imposed  tortures  that  some  have  endured  al- 
most challenge  our  belief,  for  there  have  been  some 
who  stood  for  years,  and  never  once  slept,  and  the 
tortures  of  such  an  existence  are  hardly  conceivable. 


The  Ascetics  and  Religious  Mendicants      71 

Whatever  hallacination  had  mastered  the  mind,  there 
was  the  element  of  will  power  in  its  supreme  control, 
for  in  spite  of  the  rope  suspended  from  the  tree  to 
arrest  the  body  of  the  Saddhu,  if  dropping  forward 
when  momentarily  overcome  by  being  deprived  of 
sleep  for  years,  at  once  he  would  recover  himself  and 
continue  sustaining  the  worn-out  body  that  must  have 
been  terribly  exhausted  from  prolonged  fatigue.  Did 
the  tyranny  of  religion  ever  surpass  this  ?  A  saint 
run  mad  is  mad  indeed. 

Huxley  says  that  "  No  more  thorough  mortification 
of  the  flesh  has  ever  been  attempted  than  that  achieved 
by  the  Indian  ascetic  anchorite ;  no  later  monaclusm 
has  so  nearly  succeeded  in  reducing  the  human  mind 
to  that  condition  of  impassive  quad-somnambulism, 
which,  but  for  its  acknowledged  holiness,  might  run 
the  risk  of  being  confounded  with  idiocy.  Their  aim 
is  to  abandon  or  suppress  every  natural  trait  in  man 
until  all  that  remained  of  a  man  was  the  impassive,  ex- 
tenuated, mendicant  monk,  self -hypnotized  into  catalep- 
tic trances,  which  the  deluded  mystic  took  for  fore- 
tastes of  the  final  union  with  Brahma." 

According  to  the  rules  of  particular  cults  the  dress 
was  to  be  as  limited  as  the  food  for  whilst  certain  ones 
were  accorded  the  distinction  of  wearing  the  con- 
spicuous saffron  coloured  robe  others  were  limited  to 
the  ordinary  loin  cloth,  but  another  sect  had  risen  to 
such  an  ethereal  plane  that  they  discarded  all  material 
vestments  and  they  went  forth  as  primitive  man  in 
Eden,  clothed  in  space.  The  observer  in  India  sees 
many  whose  only  adornment  consists  of  the  necklace  of 
rosaries  made  from  the  sacred  tulasi  or  from  the  lotus 
seed.    The  long  matted  black  hair  falls  over  their 


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73    The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

shonlden  and  breast  and  affords  them  frequently  mora 
covering  than  the  clout  tot  a  girdle. 

These  so-called  saints  or  Saddhus  constitute  a  large 
and  interesting  class  for  pqrchological  study  in  connec- 
tion with  comparative  religions.  Some  of  the  noted 
Saddhus  of  India  were  at  Pun  and  as  they  sat  just  out- 
side the  wall  that  surrounds  the  temple  and  near  the 
main  entrance  they  attracted  the  attention  of  all  and  we 
stu  lied  them  with  much  interest. 

They  were  willing  to  be  photographed  and  like 
ordinary  mortals  they  wanted  to  appear  to  the  best  ad- 
vantage in  their  pictures  by  assuming  a  proper  pose. 
One  even  stood  erect,  drew  bank  his  shoulders  and  ar- 
ranged his  long  beard  so  that  the  picture  might  do  him 
justice,  for  with  all  his  repression  and  elimination  of 
self  it  was  evident  that  the  inherent  vanity  remained 
and  it  may  require  a  number  of  future  reincarnations  to 
eradicate  it.  Others  appeared  to  be  completely  absorbed 
in  their  dreamy  state  and  with  averted  faces  showed 
their  stolid  indifference  to  the  pride  of  being  immortal- 
ized by  means  of  a  kodak,  although  they  picked  up  the 
coins  that  I  placed  by  their  side  in  the  vain  hope  of  at- 
tracting their  attention  for  a  moment.  These  were  sup- 
posed to  have  so  completely  overcome  the  flesh  and  the 
devil  that  even  vanity  of  self  had  been  suppressed. 
Their  abundant  looks  of  matted  hair  partly  concealed 
the  ashen  face  of  the  usual  weird  and  ghostly  appear- 
ance. The  peculiar  inane  expression  is  said  to  be  due 
to  their  excessive  use  of  opium  and  hemp,  and,  I  may 
add,  to  their  lack  of  vigorous  thinking.  No  one  would 
ever  mistake  that  face  as  the  product  of  profound  in- 
tellectual exercise,  for  it  is  the  expression  of  mental 
imbecility,  and  not  of  hard  and  sustained  thinking. 


The  Ascetics  and  Religious  Mendicants      73 

There  is  nothing  attractive  about  the  situation  of 
Pnri  for  the  low,  desolate,  sandy  coast  at  this  place  is 
monotonous  except  during  certain  seasons  when  the 
rolling  waves  make  the  approach  of  boats  impossible. 
Even  the  unprotected  roadstead  which  is  some  distance 
from  the  shore  is  only  accessible  for  boats  during  the 
favourable  months  owing  to  the  violent  surf  between 
March  and  September.  Many  of  the  pilgrims  were 
bathing  and  on  the  shore  were  a  number  of  fires  that 
were  reducing  to  ashes  the  bodies  of  those  who  had 
made  the  pilgrimage  but  who  were  destined  not  to  re- 
turn, and  their  ashes  were  thrown  into  the  bay  as  has 
been  the  fate  of  thousands. 

The  sand  along  the  street  of  the  town  to  the  beach 
was  so  deep  that  we  were  finally  obliged  to  leave  the 
carriage  and  walk,  but  we  saw  many  unique  si^ts  as 
we  passed  a  number  of  devotees  who  seemed  bent  upon 
surpassing  all  others  in  their  efforts  to  afflict  their  body 
as  much  as  possible,  although  they  believed  it  to  be  a 
highly  meritorious  act  and  which  would  certainly 
greatly  lessen  if  not  wholly  remove  the  countless  rein- 
carnations charged  up  to  their  account.  I  can  only 
describe  a  few  of  the  many,  and  I  recall  one  who  made 
desperate  efforts  to  make  himself  as  uncomfortable  as 
possible  by  lying  on  the  ground  and  supporting  two 
heavy  weights,  the  one  upon  his  chest  and  the  other 
upon  his  abdomen.  It  made  breathing  difficult  and 
deep  breathing  impossible,  and  he  appeared  sickly  look- 
ing and  panting  for  a  good  breath.  It  was  not  con- 
ducive to  physical  development,  but  we  must  remem- 
ber that  he  was  not  engaged  in  this  uncomfortable  exer- 
cise for  the  sake  of  his  health,  but  sustained  in  his 
martyrdom  by  a  very  different  motive.    He  was  per- 


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74    The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

fectly  willing  to  beoome  immortalized  by  being  pboto> 
graphed,  and  I  was  initinotively  seized  by  an  impulse  to 
reciprocate  his  favour  by  removing  the  oppresdve  bar- 
dens  from  his  chest  and  abdomen  so  that  he  might  rise 
and  stand  upon  his  feet  like  a  man  ;  but  against  this  he 
sincerely  protested  and  we  passed  on  and  saw  him  later 
in  the  same  position. 

Another  Saddhn,  who  attracted  unusual  attention  be- 
cause of  his  personality  and  the  nature  of  his  self-in- 
flicted suffering,  occupied  a  most  conspicuous  place  by 
the  main  thoroughfare  so  that  he  might  be  seen  of  men, 
for  every  pilgrim  to  Puri  had  to  pass  his  way.  He  sat 
tailor-like,  squatting  upon  the  bare  ground  between  four 
fln»  with  the  burning  sun  overhead  and  which  was 
credited  as  the  fifth  to  his  merit  account.  He  sat 
motionless  in  this  position  which  he  had  occupied  with 
brief  intervals  for  four  months.  He  was  to  receive 
great  merit  in  accordance  with  a  teaching  in  the  Sacred 
Books.  The  scorching  rays  of  the  Indian  sun  combined 
to  make  the  hottest  of  the  five  fires  for  he  had  no  pro- 
tection, though  we  found  it  necessary  to  use  the  sun- 
shade and  pith  helmet  as  a  safeguard  against  sunstroke. 
He  had  remarkable  self-control  and  an  interesting  face 
of  the  conventional  ascetic  type. 

Two  others  that  we  witnessed  had  reached  the  climax 
of  self-torture,  and  so  self-conscious  were  they  of  the 
fact  that  they  acted  as  if  they  were  on  public  exhibi- 
tion. They  were  quite  naked,  with  the  exception  of  a 
small  rag,  and  were  lying  upon  a  bed  of  iron  spikes,  the 
one  bed  being  suspended  by  ropes  from  the  branch  of  a 
tree  and  which  he  used  as  a  swing  for  diversion  and  ap- 
parently for  our  entertainment,  inasmuch  as  he  ceased 
the  swinging  immediately  after  we  left  him,  for  the 


The  Ascetics  and  Religious  Mendicants      75 

motion  must  havo  iDoreaied  hii  diaoomfort.  Tho  other 
bed  of  iron  spikee  upon  which  the  naked  Saddhn  lay 
retted  npon  four  wheels  and  the  man  waa  stretched  oat 
fall  length  upon  these  iron  points  that  were  several 
inches  in  length. 

They  foand  no  fault  with  onr  presence  and  encouraged 
OS  to  photograph  them,  doubtless  with  the  expectancy  of 
a  gratuity.  They  paid  little  attention  to  our  interest 
and  curiosity  in  examining  the  spikes  to  test  their 
material  and  to  see  how  sharp  the  points  were,  and  the 
ascetic  even  turned  over  so  that  I  could  see  whether  they 
had  anywhere  penetrated  the  skin  of  his  back.  In  fact 
the  skin  of  his  back  was  almost  as  callous  as  the  hide  of 
a  rhino,  and  the  blunt  nails  could  not  penetrate  it.  It 
would  have  been  very  different  with  ordinary  mortals 
untrained  for  this  torture,  and  yet  it  must  have  been  a 
most  uncomfortable  bed  even  for  this  East  Indian  saint, 
inured  to  hardship,  and  he  did  not  select  it  for  its  com- 
fort but  for  its  excessive  merit,  and  which  was  greatly 
multiplied  by  being  practiced  in  the  holy  city  of  Pun. 

The  supreme  motive  for  practicing  these  grievous 
austerities  is  the  hope  of  thereby  cutting  short  the 
ceaseless  round  of  reincarnations,  and  the  greater  the 
severity  of  the  ascetic  the  greater  is  the  merit;  far 
better  endure  even  the  most  excruciating  pain  for  a 
single  lifetime,  if  necessary,  than  to  run  the  terrible 
gauntlet  of  the  multiplied  woes  that  are  incident  upon 
an  unlimited  number  of  rebirths  with  their  successive 
bells  of  limited  duration. 

Inasmuch  as  this  institution  of  asceticism  has  the 
sanction  and  encouragement  of  religion  it  is  not  strange 
that  India  has  been  such  a  fertile  field,  and  numbers  as 
many  as  five  millions  in  its  vast  army  of  worse  than 


Miarocofv  msouition  tbt  cHAtr 

(ANSI  and  ISO  TEST  CHART  No.  2) 


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76    The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

worthless  unproductive  religious  mendicants.  They 
are  the  human  parasites  that  prey  upon  the  body  politic 
for  their  support.  They  contribute  nothing  to  the 
nation,  but  exert  an  immoral  and  degrading  influence 
upon  the  people,  and  if  all  were  to  follow  their  per- 
nicious example  the  race  would  become  extinct.  They 
affect  utter  indifference  to  everything  that  has  contrib- 
uted to  the  elevation  of  nmnkind  and  which  have  been 
the  chief  elements  in  the  civilization  of  the  greatest 
nations  on  earth. 

The  Saddhu,  as  the  Hindu  ascetic  has  been  designated, 
has  but  little  of  this  world's  goods  to  encumber  him, 
for  his  indispensable  outfit  is  generally  limited  to  the 
begging  bowl,  made  from  the  cocoanut,  gourd,  wood 
or  clay,  for  the  brass  bowl  is  not  so  common  among 
them.  They  wear  the  rosary  or  string  of  beads  about 
the  neck  and  which  they  count  when  wishing  to  repeat 
a  given  number  of  times  the  name  of  their  favourite 
deity.  A  water  pot  and  staff  complete  the  assets  of 
the  majority  of  these  beggars. 

The  Mohammedan  fakirs  are  also  numbered  among 
the  ascetics  of  India,  for  in  this  respect  as  well  aa 
touching  the  principle  of  caste  they  have  been  influenced 
by  their  Hindu  neighbours  and  on  a  certain  occasion  we 
saw  one  of  those  who  was  literally  weighed  down  with 
a  load  of  chains,  but  as  the  cor  itions  were  unfavour- 
able for  a  good  picture  I  have  introduced  one  made 
from  a  photograph  that  was  taken  of  a  fakir  in  Bombay 
in  1894.  He  had  gradually  added  one  chain  after 
another  until  he  became  so  weighed  down  with  this 
self-imposed  burden  that  he  was  unable  to  walk,  and 
the  railroad  oflBcials  refused  to  admit  him  into  the 
passenger  coach  with  the  unpaid  additional  freight  of 


The  Ascetics  and  Religious  Mendicants      77 

eight  hundred  and  fifty  pounds  of  heavy  iron  chains 
that  had  been  attached  to  an  iron  ring  that  had  been 
forged  about  his  neck,  and  which  rested  heavily  about 
his  shoulders.  He  was  on  his  way  to  Mecca  and  was 
regarded  as  a  very  saintly  man  by  the  Mohammedans 
who  carried  him  into  the  freight  car,  after  having  been 
weighed ;  he  was  then  shipped  on  his  religious  pilgrim- 
age as  so  much  live  freight. 

W.  Crook  in  "  Popular  Eeligious  Folk-Lore  of  North 
India  "  records  a  most  remarkable  story  of  one  of  the 
past  saints,  a  Baba  Farrid,  who  for  the  last  thirty 
years  of  his  life  took  no  material  food  into  his  body, 
but  "supported  himself  by  merely  holding  to  his 
stomach  wooden  cakes  and  fruits  whenever  he  felt 
hungry."  As  far  as  we  know  that  was  a  most  unique 
example  of  carrying  the  law  of  suggestion  to  the  limit 
and  in  attaining  practical  results  for  the  living.  Chris- 
tian Science  has  not  yet  attained  to  such  marvellous 
powers  of  mental  assimilations,  and  cannot  hope  to 
surpass  it. 

It  is  a  standing  challenge  to  Hinduism  to  furnish 
some  tangible  form  of  proof  that  their  theory  of  Maya 
(that  all  is  delusion)  is  based  upon  a  truth  that  has  been 
proved  by  an  unmistakable  ocular  demonstration.  It 
is  a  very  simple  process  to  the  Hmdu  mind  to  solve 
the  mystery  by  a  subtle  metaphysical  formula,  but 
unfortunately  it  is  so  theoretical  that  all  practical  tests 
prove  that  it  utterly  fails  as  a  working  hypothesis. 
Our  senses  assert  themselves  and  the  gnawings  of 
hunger,  the  agony  of  pain  and  suffering,  and  the  bitter 
disappointments  and  sorrows  of  life,  with  its  manifold 
ills,  are  so  real  and  universal  that  no  mere  verbal  panacea, 
however  ethereal,  can  so  hypnotize  our  senses  and 


9 


V' 


I  i 


I  ^■ 


I 


^'  11' 


•-»' 


^■'!,; 


I  te 


HI 


in 


fc  '; 


78    The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

reason  into  believing  that  there  is  no  reality  correspond- 
ing with  these,  but  that  all  is  Maya — illusion. 

As  an  illustration,  I  am  reminded  of  the  ancient 
Egyptians  who  were  greatly  concerned  for  the  pres- 
ervation of  the  body  after  death,  and  in  order  that 
they  might  not  suffer  from  hunger  and  thirst  in  the 
next  world,  they  took  extra  precaution  by  placing  food 
and  drink  in  the  tomb  with  the  mummified  body.  In 
addition  to  this  expedient,  and  in  order  to  provide 
against  all  possible  failure  of  the  necessary  supply, 
they  resorted  to  the  unique  device  of  substituting  the 
law  of  suggestion  for  the  genuine  articles.  Hence  they 
placed  with  the  deceased  mere  outward  forms  or  rep- 
resentations of  the  necessary  provision,  and  instead  of 
the  roast  goose,  bread,  water,  beer  and  other  numerous 
articles  of  diet  which  were  liable  to  perish,  they  sub- 
stituted the  mere  symbols  of  the  elaborate  menu,  but 
made  from  the  enduring  material  of  alabaster  or  wood, 
whilst  the  accompanying  wooden  statuettes,  or  models 
of  servants  and  cooking  utensils,  would  serve  to  provide 
the  meals  that  were  supposed  to  have  the  magical 
effect  of  satisfying  any  hunger  that  might  possibly 
afflict  the  deceased.  Whilst  such  substitutes  might 
answer  for  all  the  practical  needs  of  the  departed  in 
transit  to  the  next  world,  the  living  have  such  real 
wants  that  the  hunger  can  only  be  satis^ed  by  assimila- 
ting substantial  food. 

But  what  is  the  sociological  effect  of  the  vast  horde 
of  religious  mendicants — many  of  them  moral  de- 
generates— who  swarm  over  the  country  of  India  like 
a  plague  of  locusts  ?  They  have  abandoned  the  highest 
ideals  of  life,  turned  beggar,  and  have  become  in- 
different to  all  personal  opportunities  and  responsibili- 


L*f 


The  Ascetics  and  Religious  Mendicants      79 

ties  of  service.  The  unmitigated  evil  is  great  in  a 
country  like  India  with  its  vast  and  underfed  popula- 
tion, where  there  is  so  much  of  human  misery,  suffering 
and  want ;  and  such  a  lack  of  food  produced  on  the 
native  soil  that  no  less  than  forty  millions  do  not  have 
their  hunger  satisfied,  although  there  is  suflBcient  un- 
cultivated arable  land  that  might  easily  be  made  suffi- 
ciently productive  to  feed  many  millions  if  these 
worthless  parasites  of  able-bodied  men  and  women 
would  devote  their  energies  to  the  cultivation  of  the 
soil  Then  they  would  be  able  to  feed  others,  as  well 
as  relieve  the  poor  of  the  necessity  of  feeding  them 
from  their  own  scanty  store.  As  it  is  they  are  pro- 
ductive of  evil  only  and  are  suficient  to  bankrupt  a 
people. 

Whilst  we  condemn  them  unsparingly  we  must  not 
forget  that  even  Christians  at  times  were  deluded  into 
believing  that  God  is  pleased  to  see  us  suffering  pain 
and  misery,  and  that  the  life  of  the  anchorite  practicing 
the  severest  austerities  was  particularly  pleasing  to 
Him.  Along  the  valley  of  the  Nile,  mummies  were 
cast  out  of  the  ancient  tombs  and  their  places  filled 
by  useless  living  bodies  of  so-called  saints.  In  the 
famous  Monastery  of  Troitsa,  the  Loretto  of  Eussia, 
but  a  few  hours  by  rail  from  Moscow,  we  visited  the 
dark  and  damp  subterranean  cells  in  which  deluded 
Christian  monks  once  immured  themselves  for  years  or 
until  death  released  them  of  their  melancholy  exist- 
ence. Such  subjects  of  mental  aberrations  were  not 
only  sanctioned  by  the  Church  but  they  received 
special  commendation  and  honours  from  the  ecclesi- 
astical authorities. 

It  was  a  humane  Bussian  Czar  who  was  wise  and 


1 

i   11 


/   »' 


\   I 


I      1 


ill 

ri,' 


-«', 


f 
1*1 


8o    The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

Christian  enough  to  suppress  this  horrible  delusion  that 
had  been  fostered  by  the  Greek  Catholic  Church  and 
he  emptied  the  cells,  liberated  the  fanatics,  and  hence- 
forth forbade  the  inhuman  practice.  Should  any  civi- 
lized government  to-day  treat  any  of  its  prison  criminals 
with  such  barbaric  cruelty  it  would  be  denounced  in 
unmeasured  terms  by  the  leading  nations  on  earth. 
Hence  we  must  not  be  too  severe  with  the  ascetics  of 
India,  for  even  Christians  have  at  times  copied  their 
pilgrimages,  and  sat  in  sackcloth  and  ashes,  and  the 
stylites  and  flagellants  courted  as  much  suffering  as 
they  could  inflict  upon  themselves,  whilst  labouring 
under  the  gross  hallucination  that  Christ  and  their 
heavenly  Father  were  greatly  pleased  with  such  a 
bloody  human  sacrifice.  Many  of  these  unchristian 
abuses  were  but  the  recrudescence  of  Eastern  paganism 
under  the  name  and  guise  of  Christian  sanction. 

Joly  in  his  "  Psychology  of  the  Saints  "  gives  a  remark- 
able statement  of  St.  Theresa :  "  Suffering  alone  can 
make  life  tolerable  to  me.  My  greatest  desire  is  to 
suffer.  Often  and  often  I  cry  out  to  God  from  the 
depths  of  my  soul ;  either  to  suffer  or  to  die  is  all  that 
I  ask  of  Thee."  That  state  of  mind  was  due  to  a 
morbid  emotional  nature  stimtdated  by  an  utter  mis- 
conception of  the  spirit  and  teaching  of  Christ,  and 
she  became  mastered  by  the  habit  of  her  terrible  in- 
fatuation. It  was  the  mental  confusion  of  her  thoughts 
for  those  of  a  tender  and  all  loving  Saviour. 

In  connection  with  the  ascetics  of  India  the  mind 
naturally  reverts  to  the  extravagant  stories  heard  re- 
specting the  wonderful  deeds  of  the  yogis,  for  they 
belong  to  a  special  class  of  the  devotees  and  receive 
distinguished  esteem  from  the  common  people.    Those 


I-  - 


The  Ascetics  and  Religious  Mendicants      81 

who  have  become  adepts  in  their  art  are  supposed  to 
have  passed  beyond  the  limitations  and  ills  to  which 
ordinary  mortals  are  heir,  and  I  had  heard  startling 
stories  concerning  their  marvellous  wonder-working 
powers. 

During  my  college  days  I  became  interested  in  the 
clever  tricks  of  magicians,  and  Hermann  and  Kellar 
deserved  much  credit  for  the  entertainment  that  they 
gave  to  their  large  audiences.  We  had  witnessed  the 
surprising  skill  displayed  by  some  of  the  magicians  of 
Egypt  that  recalled  the  marvels  of  their  famous  ances- 
tors in  that  land  of  wonders,  and  hence  we  were  pro- 
pared  to  pass  judgment  upon  what  we  were  to  see  in 
India.  We  had  been  assured  by  those  who  repeated 
the  stereotyped  stories  that  the  yogis  of  India  wrought 
marvels  that  easily  eclipsed  the  traditional  wonders  of 
the  magicians  of  ancient  Egypt.  As  examples,  the 
yogi  would  sit  for  hours  high  in  the  air,  with  no  other 
support  than  that  of  an  iron  rod  which  he  held  by  his 
right  hand.  He  would  plant  a  mango  seed  and  cause 
it  to  sprout  and  grow  into  a  plant  several  feet  high  in 
your  presence,  and  you  had  to  wait  but  a  few  minutes 
to  behold  this  phenomenon  enacted  before  your  eyes  so 
that  there  could  be  no  gainsaying  it. 

But  this  did  not  exhaust  the  list  of  wonders,  for  a 
real  Indian  yogi,  with  flesh  and  blood,  but  seemingly 
hovering  between  the  terrestrial  and  supermundane 
world,  would  gaze  intently  into  space  and  then  sud- 
denly throwing  a  long  rope  into  the  air  would  climb 
up  the  same  rope  with  the  swiftness  of  the  wind  and 
like  it  disappear  out  of  sight,  whilst  the  startled  be- 
holders looked  in  vain  for  his  return. 

Such  examples  increased  the  mystery  and  were  re- 


''  i  i 


m  n 


f-m 


r  I 


m! 


&  1 


'  f  ;t 


82    The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

garded  as  sufficient  to  confound  the  most  skeptical, 
but  the  limit  had  not  been  reache  l.  The  most  stag- 
gering demonstration  had  been  reserved  for  the  last, 
and  as  a  climax  a  celebrated  yogi  would  allow  himself 
to  be  decently  buried  in  the  earth  for  a  number  of  days 
and  even  weeks,  and  at  the  appointed  time  for  the 
grave  to  be  opened,  the  dead  yogi  would  come  to  life 
again  with  a  smile. 

No  wonder  that  with  such  inexplicable  mysteries  my 
college  enthusiasm  for  clever  tricks  revived  and  I  de- 
termined to  make  as  thorough  an  investigation  as  pos- 
sible as  to  the  merits  and  reliability  of  these  extrava- 
gant  stories.  In  every  town  and  city  I  made  diligent 
inquiry  from  every  available  and  reliable  source,  and 
with  an  inquiring  mind  ever  alert  for  the  unexpected 
to  appear,  especially  in  India,  that  land  of  surprises. 
In  short  we  saw  the  most  clever  tricks,  for  such  they 
were,  throughout  Ceylon  and  India,  but  all  of  which 
could  be  easily  duplicated,  and  have  been  excelled  by 
our  noted  magicians  at  home.  I  speak  with  confidence, 
for  in  every  instance  I  paid  the  so-called  magician  or 
yogi  in  Ceylon  and  India  to  show  me  in  piivate  the 
secret  of  all  the  tricks  that  he  had  performed  in  public. 
Of  course  the  novelty  and  interest  disappeared  when 
mystery  was  revealed  just  as  conundrums  do  not  sus- 
tain our  wonder  when  once  we  know  them. 

I  want  to  assure  the  reader  that  the  often-repeated 
story  about  making  the  mango  tree  or  plant  grow  in 
your  presence  from  a  seed,  and  while  you  wait,  is  an 
utter  contradiction  of  terms,  for  at  its  best  it  is  rather 
a  bungling  trick,  and  these  Indian  performers  would  be 
driven  out  of  the  business  if  they  were  compelled  to 
compete  with  some  of  the  noted  prestidigitators  of  our 


The  Ascetics  and  Religious  Mendicants      83 

own  country.  Of  coarse  no  man  ever  sat  unsupported 
in  the  air,  but  the  fanaticism  and  superstition  of  the 
ignorant  crowd  never  presumed  to  investigate  the  claim 
or  they  would  have  discovered  that  the  fakir  was  sup- 
ported  by  a  concealed  ring  that  extended  from  the  iron 
rod  that  he  grasped.  Tho  story  of  climbing  up  the 
rope  thrown  into  the  air  is  too  absurd  to  be  repeated  in 
seriousness,  although  some  have  been  so  unscrupulous 
as  to  refer  to  it  as  eye-witnesses.  There  have  been 
standing  offers  of  one  thousand  rupees  for  many  years, 
by  well-known  men  of  India,  and  which  have  been 
offered  to  any  man  who  would  furnish  reliable  evidence 
that  such  a  phenomenon  was  ever  witnessed  in  that 
country. 

In  that  poverty-stricken  land  where  there  are  so 
many  millions  who  need  money,  and  who  would  walk 
across  the  empire  for  less  than  one  hundred  rupees,  no 
doubt  the  challenge  would  have  been  accepted  and  the 
information  would  have  been  furnished  long  ago  had 
there  been  a  scintilla  of  truth  in  the  story  itself.  It 
was  a  mere  oriental  fabrication  and  the  nearest  ap- 
proach to  the  verification  of  the  genuineness  was 
furnished  by  an  ignorant  ascetic  who  had  heard  that 
his  grandfather  was  supposed  to  have  heard  such  a 
story  told  him  when  a  boy,  that  a  yogi  living  in  an  un- 
frequented part  of  India  had  made  such  an  unverified 
claim.  No  court  in  any  civilized  country  would  accept 
such  testimony  as  valid. 

Unquestionably  some  of  the  yogis  through  many 
years  of  most  rigid  discipline  have  done  strange  things 
with  themselves  and  which  would  have  been  impossi- 
ble and  fatal  for  the  uninitiated.  Some  of  the  strange 
stories  told  about  their  suspended  animation  of  life  for 


s    «« 


f  '* 


)  \ 


!     it 


I  ■■ 


i       ! 


84.    The  Grod  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

a  number  of  days  have  not  been  fully  nor  satisfactorily 
explained,  for  after  making  due  allowance  for  all  ex- 
travagant speech  there  is  still  a  residuam  of  mystery  in 
the  strange  power  of  certain  yogis  that  wo  cannot  ac- 
count for.  However  this  is  not  offered  as  an  apology 
for  the  very  general  and  uncritical  statements  that  are 
so  frequently  heard,  and  which  even  appear  in  tho 
journals  without  any  interrogation  mark  as  to  their 
credibility. 

As  an  illustration  of  such  exaggeration,  Bishop 
Thobum  quotes  the  following  from  the  Neva  York 
Mail  and  Expresa:  "Much  has  been  written  of  late 
about  the  capacity  of  frogs  to  live  for  years  in  rocks. 
Of  much  greater  interest,  however,  is  the  fact  that 
human  beings  can  also  lie  for  months  buried  under 
ground  and  then  be  brought  to  life  again.  Such  phe- 
nomenal beings  are  not  of  course  found  on  this  conti- 
nent or  in  Europe,  but  in  India,  that  veritable  realm 
of  wonder  working.  A  German  writer  has  recently 
written  a  very  interesting  essay  on  the  capacity  often 
proved  of  Indian  fakirs  to  let  themselves  be  buried  for 
longer  or  shorter  periods,  and  to  come  to  life  again 
smiling  after  the  ordeal." 

Whilst  the  noted  bishop  missionary  of  many  years  in 
India  had  heard  similar  stories  he  could  never  learn  of 
a  well-attested  case,  for  they  were  always  confused  ru- 
mours about  some  yogis  hundreds  of  miles  away  and 
of  whom  he  could  obtain  no  reliable  evidence,  although 
he  made  special  efforts  for  years. 

The  most  notable  instance  of  the  suspended  powers 
of  animation  heard  of  in  India  was  that  of  Hari  Das, 
who  according  to  the  statement  of  Dr.  Honiberger 
"  threw  himself  into  a  hypnotic  or  unconscious  state 


U- 


The  Ascetics  and  Religious  Mendicants       85 

and  was  wrapped  in  the  linen  on  which  he  was  sitting ; 
the  seal  of  Ranjit  Singh  was  stamped  thereon,  and  it 
was  placed  in  a  chest  on  which  the  maharajah  put  a 
strong  lock.  The  chest  was  buried  in  a  garden  outside 
the  city,  belonging  to  the  minister ;  barley  was  sown 
on  the  ground,  and  the  space  enclosed  with  a  wall  and 
surrounded  by  sentinels.  On  the  fortieth  day,  which 
was  the  time  fixed  for  his  exhumation,  a  great  number 
of  persons  from  the  durbar,  with  General  Ventura  and 
several  Englishmen  of  the  vicinity,  went  to  the  enclo- 
sure. The  chest  was  brought  up  and  opened,  and  the 
fakir  was  found  in  the  same  position  as  thoy  had  left 
him,  cold  and  stiff.  They  endeavoured  to  bring  him  to 
life  by  applying  warmth  to  the  head,  injecting  air  into 
his  ears  and  mouth  and  rubbing  the  whole  of  his  body 
to  promote  circulation.  On  the  day  of  his  burial  he 
ordered  his  beard  to  be  shaved,  and  at  his  exhumation 
his  chin  was  as  smooth  as  on  the  day  of  his  interment, 
thus  furnishing  complete  proof  of  the  powers  of  vitality 
having  been  suspended  during  that  period." 

Whilst  the  integrity  of  Dr.  Honiberger  is  not  called 
in  question,  we  must  remember  that  he  is  not  giving  a 
statement  from  his  personal  observation  for  he  was  not 
an  eye-witres8,  but  received  his  information  later  from 
an  officer  of  Ranjit  Singh,  and  for  certain  detail  we 
must  make  due  allowance  for  the  universal  tendency  to 
hyperbole  among  the  Orientals  and  the  lack  of  critical 
investigation.  Bishop  Thobum  in  referring  to  the 
above  aamits  that "  there  is  nothing  incredible  in  the 
statement  that  the  fakir  threw  himself  into  a  state 
which  resembled  death,  for  that  can  be  done  by  many 
men,  both  in  India  and  elsewhere.  Nor  is  it  incredible 
that  he  was  buried  in  the  presence  of  Ranjit  Singh. 


I  r , 
i 


i: 


U 


Ull 


■  ■  :i 


i  i 


if " 


If 


86    The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduisnn  in  India 

There  however  the  admission  must  ccaso.  It  is  perfectly 
credible  that  the  body  wiw  removed  from  the  grave 
almost  immediately  after  the  gunnl  had  been  set,  for 
it  ia  alio  stated  that  the  man  lluri  Dos  had  a  bad  repu- 
tation and  that  his  moral  character  was  of  the  worst 
description.'* 

We  may  well  be  skeptical  about  receiving  the  story 
of  this  forty  days'  burial  at  its  full  face  value  because  of 
the  general  reputation  of  this  yogi  as  being  nothing  but 
a  disreputable  juggler.  Our  confidence  is  also  shaken 
by  the  fact  that  the  English  residents  of  the  province 
in  which  it  occurred  questioned  its  genuineness,  and 
that  the  yogi  refused  to  repeat  the  jxperiment  under 
similar  conditions,  but  with  English  safeguards  against 
any  possible  fraud  or  collusion  wita  friends  to  relievo 
the  body.  The  generous  reward  ofTered  was  refused 
because  they  insisted  that  no  opportunity  should  be 
given  for  fraud  by  the  intervention  of  the  friends  of 
the  so-called  yogi.  Moreover  this  problematical  case 
took  place  some  seventy  years  ago  and  since  then  many 
intelligent  men  have  made  the  most  careful  search 
throughout  the  entire  country  of  India  for  a  similar 
authenticated  example,  but  not  one  has  been  found, 
and  hence  even  in  the  far-oflf  land  of  wonders  such  de- 
lusions and  marvels  are  not  so  common  as  the  news- 
paper referred  to  would  have  its  readers  believe. 


f  i 


j 

! 


M 


IV 


BEXABES 

THIS  holy  city  is  the  Mecca  and  Jenualem  of 
Hinduism,  and  hundreds  of  thousands  of  pil- 
grims, not  only  of  the  common  herd,  but 
many  distinguished  Hindus  are  included  among  the 
countless  hosts  who  through  the  centuries  make  the 
pilgrimage  to  this  far  famed  city  of  their  holy  religion. 
Never  has  the  most  devout  sandalled  Moslem  made  his 
pilgrimage  to  Mecca  with  profounder  faith  and  greater 
religious  expectations  than  those  that  stir  the  soul  of 
the  barefoot  Hindu  as  for  days  and  weeks  he  trudges 
along  beneath  a  burning  sun,  but  sustained  by  an  un- 
faltering faith  or  intense  desire  to  find  the  goal  of  his 
quest  at  Benares. 

Continued  streaws  of  humanity  from  all  parts  of 
India  converge  here,  for  it  is  the  centre  and  the  strong- 
hold of  Hinduism.  The  most  divergent  forms  of 
Hinduism  pour  into  this  common  centre,  although  not 
losing  their  distinctive  character  whilst  commingling 
with  this  heterogeneous  influx  of  diverse  religions ;  for 
whilst  they  elbow  their  way  through  crowds  of  pilgrims 
with  whom  they  have  nothing  in  common,  and  pay 
their  devotions  at  the  same  sacred  shrines,  and  march 
down  the  same  ghats  and  bathe  indiscriminately  in  the 
Ganges,  they  maintain  their  peculiar  belief  and  cus- 
toms, and  return  to  distant  homes  to  continue  as  their 
fathers  lived  generations  before. 

Because  of  the  special  religious  merit  in  store  for  all 

87 


^1 


i 


\  'I 


i  ( 


■a  <• 


t 

i 


'  Si .  ■ 


i^H 


'11 


88    The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

who  come  to  Benares,  and  inasmuch  as  the  poor  pil- 
grims have  no  monopoly  of  religion,  it  is  not  strange 
that  many  of  the  rich  and  distinguished  men  of  India, 
including  princes  and  rajas,  as  well  as  wealthy  bankers 
have  made  this  holy  city  their  favourite  retreat  during 
certain  seasons  of  the  year  for  religious  retirement 
from  world  or  business  affairs.  Their  commodious  and 
attractive  houses  amid  shrubs  and  shade  trees  are  sug- 
gestive of  their  princely  estates  and  that  their  life  is 
worth  living,  but  there  is  a  tremendous  chasm  between 
these  favoured  lords  and  the  multitudes  that  we  see  on 
the  streets  in  the  bazaars  and  at  the  bathing  ghats,  and 
the  contrast  is  appalling. 

However,  a  pilgrimage  to  this  holy  city  is  so  meri- 
torious that  millions  covet  this  devoutly  wished  for 
privilege  of  visiting  the  sacred  shrines  and  bathing  in 
the  sin- washing-clean  waters  of  the  Ganges,  and  are 
so  mastered  by  this  thought  that  I  do  not  prestune 
that  they  entertain  any  thought  of  envy  as  they  pass 
these  princely  homes  of  wealth  and  comfort,  for  it  is 
the  deeper  wants  of  the  soul  that  they  seek  to  have 
satisfied.  Inasmuch  as  the  god  Siva  who  presides  here 
is  supposed  to  take  special  delight  in  human  suffering, 
as  some  others  once  thought  of  their  God,  certain  de- 
vout ones  make  their  coming  as  miserable  as  possible 
by  afflicting  their  famished  body  as  well  as  their  soul ; 
and  hence  they  complete  the  last  miles  in  the  most  de- 
plorable manner  of  measuring  their  length  upon  the 
ground,  and  with  such  repeated  prostrations  as  de- 
scribed in  the  chapter  on  Puri. 

It  seems  almost  incredible  that  in  Benares,  a  city  of 
200,000  population,  there  should  be  as  many  as  2,000 
temples,  besides  innumerable  shrines.    With  its  one- 


if  I 


; 


V, 


H 

X 

■a 
s 


. » 


} 


I 


)'    I 
It 

'    i''  ,1 

•i! 
'l 


7  i 


,  u  ■ 

!.■"■■ 


I.-    .t 


■      i 


\ 


Benares  89 

half  million  of  idols  it  surpacses  what  the  Apostle  Paul 
beheld  in  Athens  where  he  saw  the  city  full  of  idols. 
The  manufacturers  of  idols  do  a  thriving  business,  for 
all  the  pilgrims  will  carry  one  home  with  them  at  least, 
and  no  doubt  these  makers  of  idols  would  as  bitterly 
oppose  an  interference  with  their  trade  as  did  the 
Ephesian  makers  of  the  image  of  Diana,  should  a 
mighty  apostle  of  Christianity  denounce  and  interfere 
with  their  traffic. 

We  hastened  to  the  river  early  in  the  morning,  for 
the  Hindus  are  early  risers,  and  the  wonderful  spectacle 
of  the  bathers  in  ike  Ganges  attains  its  climax  at  an 
early  hour  in  a  country  where  the  extreme  heat  causes 
the  streets  and  places  of  business  to  be  abandoned  dur- 
ing the  middle  of  the  day,  for  the  scorching  rays  of  the 
sun  would  almost  blister  the  bathers  at  these  hours. 
The  city  was  crowded,  and  there  was  the  greatest 
variety  of  people,  scenes  and  objects  of  interest.  The 
familiar  street  scenes  were  such  as  confront  us  in  all 
the  cities  of  India,  the  weavers,  barbers,  cobblers  and 
hawkers  of  articles  of  food,  with  a  full  contingent  of 
beggars,  but  which  became  greatly  multiplied  as  we 
approached  the  sacred  places,  for  they  knew  where  the 
multitudes  came. 

The  pilgrims  were  not  attracted  by  our  presence  for 
they  came  to  Benares  with  a  supreme  purpose  which 
was  ever  in  their  mind  as  they  sought  out  every  temple 
so  as  not  to  pass  by  any  possible  merit  that  the  city 
contained.  But  the  beggars  had  a  different  mission  for 
they  were  professionals,  and  no  foreigner  escaped  their 
gaze  and  plaintive  appeal.  We  observed  many  of  the 
devoted  pilgrims  as  they  sought  out  the  chief  shrines 
and  gave  their  humble  offerings  and  occasionally  be- 


90    The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 


1^  1.1 


'.  I 


)  'I 


stowed  a  garland  of  flowers,  but  which  was  later  sold 
and  resold  for  the  same  purpose  to  as  many  unsospect- 
ing  pilgrims  as  could  be  induced  to  make  the  same 
meritorious  offering.  Some  sprinkled  the  Ganges' 
water  upon  the  ubiquitous  linga  and  then  bought  some 
smaller  ones  to  be  treasured  at  home. 

Lest  I  should  give  a  false  impression  in  speaking  of 
the  interest  of  the  scenes  witnessed  in  Benares  I  would 
state  that  it  was  confined  to  a  study  of  the  objects 
themselves  and  the  people  in  connection  with  them,  for 
the  attraction  did  not  consist  of  any  beauty  and  mag- 
nificent splendour,  for  there  was  too  much  of  poverty 
and  a  decayed  civilization.  There  was  such  an  utter 
disregard  of  sanitation  among  the  thronging  multitudes 
through  which,  in  the  crowded  holy  places,  we  elbowed 
our  way,  that  few  cities  are  more  favourable  for  a 
plague  than  Benares. 

The  city  stands  on  a  slight  elevation,  crowning  the 
west  bank  of  the  Ganges,  facing  the  rising  sun,  and 
extends  for  nearly  four  miles  along  this  cliff  which  is 
crowned  with  palaces,  temples  and  mosques,  and  the 
picturesque  view  from  the  boats  on  the  river  is  un- 
rivalled by  any  city  in  India.  "We  reach  the  river  by 
the  ghats  or  flights  of  stone  steps  of  gigantic  propor- 
tions. There  are  fifty  of  these  ghats  that  descend  to 
the  water's  edge  and  some  of  them  extend  far  into  the 
river.  One  of  them  is  said  to  contain  thre«  .andred 
stone  steps,  and  they  have  platforms,  at  certain  inter- 
vals, occupied  by  sacred  shrines  and  their  attendants. 
They  are  marked  by  the  conspicuous  mammoth  palm 
leaf  umbralla  and  which  looks  like  a  gigantic  toad- 
stool. 

Here  are  found  the  teachers  and  priests,  a  sort  of 


I  ■  1 


Benares 


9» 


bureau  of  inf onnation  for  the  unsophisticated  pilgrim 
who  is  making  his  first  pilgrimage  and  who  must  be 
confused  by  the  bewildering  conflict  of  religious  claim- 
ants, and  the  babel  of  voices  competing  for  his  patron- 
age ;  for  here  also  where  the  vast  multitudes  congregate, 
are  located  the  agents  for  the  various  gods  and  who 
put  forth  the  most  extravagant  claims  for  the  merit  of 
their  special  divinity,  and  some  stood  half  dazed,  with 
the  uncertainty  of  a  lottery. 

I  felt  that  I  was  in  the  midst  of  pandemonium,  and  it 
was  a  most  extraordinary  place  for  the  psychological 
study  of  thb  phenomena  of  men  and  women  carried 
away  with  a  religious  frenzy  that  lacked  all  the  reason 
of  intellectual  ballast.  No  wonder  that  many  of  the 
poor  pilgrims  looked  dazed,  for  the  rivalry  between 
the  agents  for  their  respective  deities  recalled  the 
bedlam  witnessed  in  the  Board  of  Trade  when  men 
act  like  madmen  in  the  effort  to  recover  their  finan- 
cial iDterest<s.  Poor  deluded  mortals,  they  were  in  a 
dilemma  at  their  best,  and  they  took  their  choice  and 
paid  the  money,  only  to  be  assured  at  once  by  an 
unscrupulous  competitor  that  his  god  had  the  supreme 
merit  and  he  persuades  the  hesitating  one,  but  only  to 
filch  him  out  of  some  of  the  money  which  he  will 
yet  need  before  reaching  his  distant  home. 

These  are  the  false  shepherds  that  fleece  the  flock 
by  promising  them  a  stock  of  merit  in  case  they  con- 
tribute to  another  god.  Numerous  beggars  ^  sitting 
about  with  the  alms  bowl,  and  that  emac  d  form 
and  that  beseeching  look  are  far  more  eloquent  than 
their  unknown  language  of  words,  and  the  snmllest 
gratuity  is  most  gratefully  acknowledged. 

We  descend  to  the  river  by  flights  of  stone  steps 


92    The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 


iif-':^- 


:Jir'^ 


of  gigantio  proportions,  but  which  were  crowded  by 
pilgriniB.  It  was  a  motley  crowd  in  appearance  and 
also  representing  the  greatest  social  extremes  of  hu- 
manity, for  the  haughty  Brahman  stood  there,  so  self- 
centred  that  he  would  not  stir  to  give  room  for  an  out- 
oaste  to  pass,  and  would  not  deign  to  let  so  much  as  his 
eyes  to  rest  for  a  moment  in  sympathy  upon  the  de- 
pressed Panchama,  but  spumed  the  degraded  Pariah 
class  as  he  would  a  dog.  Here  however  he  cuuld  not 
escape  the  inevitable,  for  here  the  streams  of  a  common 
humanity  brought  the  rich  and  the  poor,  the  prince  and 
the  pauper,  the  proud  caste  Brahman  and  those  of  the 
lowest  scale  of  ignorant  and  superstitious  human  beings 
together,  but  for  a  moment,  for  they  had  nothing  more 
of  sympathy  and  love  for  one  another  than  the  dry 
leaves  of  the  forest  blown  together  by  a  passing  breeze. 

Some  of  the  Sannyasi  strode  by  with  their  vacant 
look,  but  arrogant  manner,  as  if  hypnotized  with  the 
thought  of  their  superiority  over  the  common  herd  that 
surged  about  them.  These  picturesque,  saffron-robed, 
self-centred  zealots  were  the  very  Pharisees  of  Benares 
for  they  did  not  practice  their  religion  in  the  closet 
where  no  eye  could  see  them,  but  out  in  the  open,  in 
the  most  public  place  in  order  to  be  seen  of  men.  Mod- 
esty was  not  one  of  their  virtues,  and  vanity  was  most 
conspicuous. 

Strange  sights  are  witnessed  among  the  various  re- 
ligious fanatics  that  congregate  at  Benares,  and  some 
of  the  ascetics  are  di^usting.  These  devotees  often  ex- 
cite our  wonder  if  not  our  admiration  for  it  is  amazing 
to  what  extremes  some  carry  their  craze.  Some  are 
specially  proud  of  their  long  hair,  as  though  the  glory 
of  a  man  were  in  the  length  of  his  hair,  for  in  some 


Benares 


93 


cases  it  reached  almost  to  the  ground  and  they  ezhil> 
ited  it  in  a  manner  that  indicated  this  as  one  of  their 
chief  aims  in  life,  to  grow  their  hair  to  an  extraordi- 
nary length.  As  a  rule  they  had  a  profusion  of  hair 
that  was  grown  carelessly  and  hung  in  matted  looks 
about  their  shoulders. 

The  Ganges,  which  is  so  sacred  to  the  Hindu,  is  a 
great  and  remarkable  river,  having  its  source  in  th« 
Himalayas  at  an  elevation  of  13,800  feet  above  sea  level, 
and  then  begins  its  winding  descent  for  1,557  miles  un 
til  it  empties  into  the  Bay  of  Bengal,  and  where  its 
daily  discharge  far  exceeds  the  quantity  of  water  that 
our  famed  Mississippi  pours  into  the  Gulf  of  Mexico. 

Daily  bathing  is  an  inseparable  part  of  the  religious 
life  and  ceremony  of  every  Hindu,  and  no  stream  is  so 
sacred  as  the  Ganges,  and  at  Benares  the  merit  of  its 
waters  is  particularly  e£9cacious.  In  fact  the  future  of 
every  man  is  assured  who  comes  to  bathe  in  the  river 
at  this  holy  city,  however  wayward  his  past  may  have 
been.  With  such  extraordinary  inducements  many  of 
the  wasting  wrecks  of  humanity  in  the  last  stages  of 
disease  and  the  weakness  of  old  age  are  brought  hither 
to  enjoy  the  supreme  advantages  of  dying  where  an 
immediate  transfer  to  heaven  is  made,  without  the  ne- 
cessity of  any  transmigration  of  souls.  Hence  the  mor- 
tality at  Benares  is  exceeding  great  and  beyond  all 
comparison  with  other  cities  in  proportion  to  the  popu- 
lation, for  many  are  brought  hither  in  a  dying  state. 

"We  saw  many  pathetic  examples  of  the  infirm  and 
aged  who  were  unable  to  walk  but  were  supported  and 
bjme  by  their  friends  to  the  sacred  place  so  that  they 
might  at  least  touch  the  life-giving  waters.  Many  had 
come  a  long  distance,  and  it  seemed  a  cruel  wrong  to 


I 


I  i 


?    I     I 


II 


94    The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

bring  the  aged,  sick  and  dying  ones  in  a  bullock  cart, 
without  springs,  and  jolted  over  rough  roads  instead  of 
being  allowed  to  lie  (juiut  in  their  homes,  and  attended 
by  loved  ones.  They  suffered  great  haidship  from  ex- 
posure in  their  weak  condition  whilst  travelling  as  much 
as  one  hundred  miles  and  even  more.  They  suffer  from 
heat  or  cold  according  to  the  season,  and  I  saw  the 
emaciated  aged  forms  shivering  from  cold  as  they  wore 
brought  up  from  the  Ganges.  No  doubt  the  death  of 
many  is  hastened  by  hardship  imposed  by  Hinduism, 
but  the  unfortunate  one  has  a  countless  number  in  store 
for  him. 

In  no  country  have  we  seen  such  pitiable  specimens 
of  humanity,  and  we  were  deeply  impressed  by  the  de- 
plorable condition  of  the  many  aged  and  sick  ones  who 
were  poor  in  the  things  of  this  world,  and  with  an  irre- 
pressible desire  to  improve  their  future  and  escape  the 
otherwise  inevitable  evils,  they  had  made  the  greatest 
possible  sacrifice  in  having  abandoned  their  humble 
home,  and  trudged  along  for  days,  weary,  hungry, 
footsore  and  faint,  in  only  a  scanty  muslin  loin  cloth  to 
protect  them  from  cold.  Ko  wonder  that  so  many 
perish  by  the  way. 

We  saw  some  emaciated  forms  that  seemed  nigh  unto 
death  lying  in  the  open  by  day,  exposed  to  the  sun,  for 
that  kept  them  warm,  and  the  dome  of  heaven  even  at 
night  was  their  only  covering.  But  they  murmured 
not,  for  all  that  they  seemed  to  covet  was  the  privilege 
of  bathing  in  the  saving  waters  of  the  Ganges,  and  dy- 
ing at  the  holy  city  of  Benares.  My  indictment  against 
Hinduism  is  that  it  should  attribute  such  transcendent 
merit  to  these  waters  at  the  holy  city,  but  which  can 
only  be  secured  here,  and  hence  the  inhuman  discom- 


f   ' 


tt  i 


ii 


Benares 


95 


forts  entailed.  The  poor,  suffering  ones  are  induced  to 
forego  all  personal  considerations  of  present  comfort 
and  endure  any  amount  of  hardships  in  order  that  they 
may  die  by  the  Ganges  or  at  least  that  their  ashes  may 
be  oast  into  the  saored  river,  for  the  Oaruda-purana 
teaches  that "  Whatever  sins  a  man  may  have  committed 
during  life,  if  his  bones  are  cast  into  the  Ganges  he  must 
certainly  go  to  heaven. "  Hence  many  carry  the  calcined 
bones  of  relatives  long  distances  to  throw  them  into  these 
marvellously  regenerating  waters,  for  the  most  astound- 
ing claims  have  been  declared  as  to  their  virtues. 

As  proof  of  their  boundless  transforming  power  the 
same  Purana  cites  this  remarkable  illustration :  Many 
years  ago  a  tiger  killed  a  hunter  who  had  been  the  terror 
of  the  province  because  of  his  notorious  crimes,  and  his 
lacerated  body  lay  unobserved  for  years  and  gradually 
wasted  away,  leaving  only  the  skeleton  remains,  whilst 
the  disembodied  evil  spirit  freed  from  the  carcass 
wandered  about  as  a  devil  and  as  wicked  as  the  original 
prototype  when  dwelling  in  the  body,  and  causing  all 
manner  of  mischief.  But  the  unexpected  came  to  pass, 
and  here  was  the  marvel.  One  day  a  crow  spied  the 
bleaching  bones,  and  seized  by  some  strange  impulse 
this  raven,  with  inscrutable  instinct,  picked  up  the 
bones,  one  after  another,  until  all  had  been  transferred 
to  the  Ganges,  and  at  once  its  marvellous  waters  trans- 
formed the  spirit  of  the  dreaded  demon  into  a  saint— 
too  holy  for  this  world— and  he  passed  in  a  celestial 
chariot  into  heaven.  With  such  high  authority  from 
their  sacred  writings  as  to  the  merit  of  these  waters  it 
is  not  strange  that  millions  have  made  the  pilgrimage 
to  the  Ganges. 

A  modem  anecdote  from  one  of  their  magistrates 


96    The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

will  illoitrate  their  present  faith  in  this  river.  On  a 
tour  of  inspection  he  overtook  a  poor  old  woman  who 
could  barely  trudge  along,  and  to  his  question  whither 
she  was  going,  she  replied :  *'  To  the  Ganges  with  my 
husband."  He  looked  about  for  her  old  man  whom  he 
supposed  was  following  her  but  he  was  mistaken,  for 
she  had  all  the  mortal  remains  of  her  husband  calcined 
into  the  most  concrete  state  and  done  up  in  a  handker- 
chief that  she  carried  on  her  shoulder,  and  which  she 
carefully  opened  for  his  inspection.  There  was  the 
dust  and  some  bones  and  teeth  that  had  not  been  re- 
duced to  ashes  on  the  funeral  pyre — all  of  which  she 
was  carrying  a  long  distance  with  a  wife's  devotion  to 
deposit  in  the  Ganges  so  that  it  might  be  well  with  him 
in  the  next  life. 

At  the  common  ghats  at  Benares  the  Hindus  and 
Mohanunedans  bathe  indiscriminately,  but  this  is  the 
exception  to  the  rule  for  the  Hindus  generally  have 
places  reserved  for  their  exclusive  use,  and  there  are 
likewise  several  large  ghats  that  belong  to  the  Moham- 
medans and  no  Hindus  bathe  there.  There  are  also 
ghats  that  are  used  exclusively  by  the  Brahman  class, 
the  men  taking  the  one  side  and  the  women  the  other. 
Bathing  there  has  none  of  the  disgusting  exposure 
that  I  witnessed  among  the  Bussian  peasants  at  ttie 
Jordan,  during  their  Easter  festival,  for  both  men 
and  women  retain  such  clothing  as  not  to  offend  our 
sense  of  decency.  The  women  carry  an  extra  garment 
with  them  into  the  stream,  or,  strictly  speaking,  an  uu- 
cut  strip  of  a  half  dozen  yards  of  muslin,  and  after  their 
ablutions,  put  it  in  the  place  of  the  one  previously  worn 
and  which  is  modestly  drawn  off  into  the  water  and 
then  washed  before  coming  ashore. 


^ 


Benares 


97 


Naturally  the  poorer  outoastes,  and  they  are  legion, 
are  not  always  so  fastidious  about  washing  their  gar- 
ments, for  their  supply  or  change  of  dress  is  limited, 
and  they  want  the  soul  effect  of  the  waters.  8ome 
bring  vessels  from  the  culinary  department  and  wash 
them  also,  and  many  even  carry  some  of  the  sacred 
waters  with  thom  into  their  homes  to  drink.  Some  en- 
gage in  elaborate  religious  ceremonies  in  connection 
with  their  prolonged  ablutions,  such  as  repeating  the 
mantras  to  the  sun,  counting  the  rosary,  taking  hand- 
fuls  of  the  water  and  then  with  outstretched  arms  al- 
lowing it  to  trickle  through  their  fingers. 

I  often  gazed  with  earnest  thought  upon  some  of  the 
representative  class  as  they  stood  in  this  reverent  atti- 
tude facing  the  rising  sun  and  gazing  intently  at  the 
blazing  orb  for  so  long  a  time  i  hat  it  seemed  sufficient 
to  blister  their  eyeballs,  whik  ir  lips  muttered  their 
morning  prayer  to  the  sun :  '•  _  et  us  meditate  on  the 
excellent  glory  of  the  Divine  Vivifler :  may  he  enlighten 
our  understanding."  As  the  early  religion  of  animism 
or  the  deified  phenomenon  of  nature  prevailed,  ^ve  can 
easily  understand  how  the  sun  with  its  unrivalled 
potency  received  a  full  share  of  adoration,  and  the  Sun 
God  was  once  prominent  in  the  Vedic  system  because  of 
its  transcendent  splendour  and  power  as  the  golden-deity, 
and  still  receives  universal  adoration  from  the  Hindus 
every  morning  of  the  year. 

All  who  went  into  the  Ganges  did  not  take  their  re- 
ligion so  seriously,  after  having  attended  to  the  pre- 
scribed ceremony,  for  there  were  some  lively  scenes  of 
sport,  and  some  enjoyed  swimming  and  diving,  leaping 
up  and  down,  and  splashing  the  water,  as  w^ell  as  in- 
dulging in  the  religious  bathing.    We  were  shocked  to 


if 
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;,  ■? 


9S    The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

see  certain  evidences  of  the  utter  disregard  of  aanita- 
tion,  for  whilst  the  Ganges  is  a  most  soored  river  to  the 
Hindus,  its  waters  cannot  be  very  savoury  and  sanitary 
at  Benares,  owing  to  the  enormous  quantity  of  foul 
sewage  poured  into  it. 

Imagine  the  bathers  standing  within  ten  feet  of  the 
mouth  of  great  sewers  that  empty  the  fllthy  abomina- 
tions of  a  large  city  into  the  Ganges.  The  devoted 
pilgrims  have  no  scruples  about  such  an  incongruity, 
for  they  have  never  even  heard  of  a  germ  theory,  and 
as  there  is  no  accounting  for  taste,  some  who  are  most 
zealous  in  their  efforts  to  get  all  the  virtue  that  they 
can  out  of  the  Ganges  will  even  take  handfuls  of  the 
filthy  water  and  sip  it,  and  thus  literally  purifying 
themselves  within  as  well  as  without.  However,  their 
motive  is  not  only  to  bathe  the  entire  body  with  the 
salutary  water  but  to  receive  its  inner  cleansing  power 
also. 

I  was  disgusted  with  the  view  and  I  thought  of  the 
microbes  and  pestilence  inherent  iu  the  sewage,  and 
how  it  would  poison  their  internal  organism  and  hasten 
their  death ;  but  I  was  assured  that,  on  the  contrary, 
these  salubrious  waters  were  an  antidote  for  intestinal 
troubles,  and  the  secretary  of  the  maharajah  made  the 
statement  that  according  to  a  chemical  analysis  they 
are  the  purest  waters  in  all  the  world.  We  may  well 
luestion  the  truth  of  his  statement  and  suspect  that  it 
was  only  a  metaphysical  or  religious  analysis,  for  some 
of  the  ingredients  that  find  their  way  into  it  cannot 
conduce  to  its  purity,  for  not  only  is  all  the  sewerage 
of  the  city  emptied  into  it,  but  they  also  cast  into  it  their 
dead  cats  and  dogs,  and  the  dead  bodies  of  the  small 
children  and  also  holy  men  who  need  not  be  cremated 


\   . 


Mt 


Benares 


99 


The  borning  ghats  or  the  places  where  the  funeral 
pyres  are  located  introduce  us  to  a  gruesome  spectacle 
which  characterizes  India's  method  of  disposing  of 
her  dead,  and  it  is  far  superior  to  sepulture  for  this 
warm  and  thickly  populated  country.  Inasmuch  as 
the  bubonic  plague  was  raging  in  many  places  we  wit- 
nessed numerous  examples  of  the  funeral  pyre,  and  on 
some  occasions  when  prudence  might  have  kept  us 
away,  but  our  intense  desire  to  see  and  get  impressions 
saved  us  from  all  fear,  if  not  danger. 

In  one  enclosure  the  place  looked  like  a  great  num- 
ber of  bonfires,  for  they  were  cremating  scores  of  the 
dead  and  several  victims  of  the  plague  were  brought 
in  whilst  we  walked  about  the  funeral  pyres,  and  the 
air  was  thick  with  the  offensive  odour  of  burning  hu- 
man flesh.  To  prevent  the  spread  of  the  disease  the 
bodies  were  brought  here  soon  after  life  became  ex- 
tinct, and  the  public  was  excluded  from  this  place  of 
horrors,  but  through  the  influence  of  an  oflBcial  I  ob- 
tained the  permission.  Of  course  we  had  witnessed 
many  individual  examples  at  the  ordinary  public  places 
of  burning  in  other  cities,  but  at  this  time  the  terrible 
death  rate  from  the  bubonic  plague  in  Bombay  was  so 
appalling  that  special  precaution  was  taken  by  crema- 
ting all  such  in  a  spocial  inclosure  from  which  the  pub- 
lic was  excluded,  but  to  which  we  gained  admission. 

I  shall  attempt  a  description  of  a  remarkable  cre- 
mation that  we  witnessed  one  morning  at  the  Mani- 
karanka  Ghat,  the  most  sacred  of  all  the  ghats  at 
Benares  and  one  of  the  five  famous  places  of  interest 
for  all  pilgrims  and  visitors  to  this  city.  We  v  jre  in 
a  boat  on  the  river  so  that  we  could  see  whate\  r  was 
transpiring  on  shore.    We  were  suddenly  attracted  by 


n 


0 


vt 


r?^ 


l[ 


!  f  ' 


u 


i       I 

I  !    i 


100  The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

an  unusual  noise,  and  then  we  saw  a  great  crowd  fol- 
lowing a  funeral  procession. 

It  was  an  occasion  of  rare  interest  for  the  d^^cased 
was  the  late  distinguished  General  Jeet  Jung  Bahadur 
Rana,  second  son  of  the  famous  Maharajah  Sir  Jung 
Bahadur,  commander-in-chief  of  the  army  of  Kepal. 
In  addition  to  the  numerous  friends  and  retinue  of  of- 
ficials, there  followed  a  host  of  howling  beggars  ac- 
cording to  the  custom  of  that  country  when  some  no- 
table one  is  borne  to  his  funeral  pyre,  for  this  is  their 
hope  of  receiving  a  generous  distribution  of  alms. 
They  filled  the  air  with  their  shouts  of  lamentation, 
appealing  for  mercy  in  the  form  of  alms. 

Like  an  unruly  mob  they  crowded  the  procession 
and  never  have  I  witnessed  such  a  confusion  at  a  pass- 
ing funeral.  The  procession  moved  at  a  rapid  pace 
and  often  the  two  sons  turned  about  and  threw  a  hand- 
ful of  coins  into  the  air  for  the  clamouring  horde  that 
scrambled  for  the  money  as  it  descended  to  the  ground. 
Some  of  the  beggars  came  with  large  baskets,  frames 
of  canvas  and  inverted  umbrellas  that  they  held  up  to 
catch  the  shower  of  coins.  The  family  of  the  deceased 
seemed  to  be  wholly  at  the  mercy  of  this  persistent 
rabble  that  forced  them  to  follow  a  lively  pace  along 
the  bank  of  the  river,  but  as  the  funeral  procession 
neared  the  place  of  burning  the  beggar  mob  dispersed. 

We  hurried  ashore  so  as  to  witness  the  cremation 
ceremony.  The  two  sons  sat  on  one  of  the  steps  of 
the  ghat  whilst  the  barbers  shaved  their  heads,  and  the 
face  of  the  older  one  who  had  a  full  black  beard,  and 
who  wore  the  European  dress.  Then  they  went  to  the 
Ganges  where  they  exchanged  their  accustomed  dress 
for  the  winding  sheet,  and  after  their  ablutions  came 


\r\ 


L*l 


Benares 


101 


np  the  steps  wit^  only  the  thin  wet  cotton  s^-'jet  that 
clung  to  their  bou/.  The  younger  brother  was  shiver- 
ing from  the  cold  for  he  had  less  flesh  and  blood  than 
the  elder  one.  The  latter  brought  the  lighted  torch 
from  the  low  caste  Domra  who  enjoys  this  rich  heredi- 
tary monopoly  of  providing  the  necessary  firebrands 
to  light  the  funeral  pyre. 

Thrice  they  walked  round  it  and  then  each  one  ap- 
plied his  lighted  torch,  and  soon  the  funeral  pyre  that 
resembled  a  catafalque,  with  its  white  decorations  of 
silk  and  its  tinsel  of  gold  and  silver,  was  enveloped  in 
flame,  and  the  body  that  had  been  concealed  became 
partly  exposed.  The  wood  and  body  burned  freely  be- 
cause of  the  abundance  of  ghee  that  had  been  poured 
upon  them,  and  the  mixed  spices  gave  a  more  savoury 
odour  to  the  burning  flesh.  The  two  sons  stood  by  until 
all  but  a  few  bones  had  been  reduced  to  ashes  for  there 
was  an  abundance  of  fuel.  The  older  one  occupied  a 
prominent  position  in  the  government  and  spoke  Eng- 
lish perfectly. 

We  conversed  freely  together  and  he  was  quite  will- 
ing that  I  should  take  the  snap  shots  during  the  crema- 
tion, and  at  his  request  I  sent  him  several  pictures  and 
which  he  courteously  acknowledged  and  thanked  me 
for  my  letter  of  sympathy,  I  realized  as  I  stood  and 
talked  with  him  the  power  of  the  truth  contained  in 
the  words  that  "  One  touch  of  nature  makes  the  whole 
world  kin,"  for  I  felt  that  I  was  his  brother  man,  and 
I  have  never  ceased  to  feel  profoundly  for  his  welfare. 

I  had  a  vivid  vision  of  the  past  century  as  I  wit- 
nessed the  cremation  of  this  distinguished  Hindu  gen- 
eral who  had  died  the  day  preceding,  for  all  about 
were  many  stone  monuments  that  had  been  erected  to 


m    11 


vr* 


102   The  Grod  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

the  glorious  memory  of  the  worthy  wives  who  proved 
their  loyalty  to  their  husbands  by  yielding  to  the  per- 
suasions of  the  priests,  and  who  immolated  themselves 
upon  the  funeral  pyre  of  their  husbands. 

Some  of  these  enduring  monuments  had  been  sculp- 
tured with  the  picture  of  the  husband  and  wife,  and 
with  these  objective  surroundings  of  silent  but  eloquent 
monumental  witnesses,  and  with  the  background  of 
history,  and  aided  by  the  imagination,  T  was  enabled  to 
reconstruct  the  past  and  in  imagination  at  least  become 
an  eye-witness  of  the  appalling  scenes  ^lat  were  often 
witnessed  at  Benares  and  elsewhere,  and  to  the  fact  of 
which  these  monuments  testified.  It  was  a  scene  too 
horrible  for  civilized  people  to  behold  and  yet  it  was 
supported  by  the  religious  leaders  of  Hinduism  and 
who  bitterly  opposed  the  reform  measures  when  pro- 
posed for  its  suppression.  Had  it  not  been  for  the 
power  of  the  Anglo-Indian  government,  influenced  by 
Christian  thought  and  civilization  there,  I  might  have 
beheld  the  shocking  spectacle  of  the  wives  of  the  de- 
ceased general,  bound  and  made  living  torches,  to  be 
consumed  with  the  dead  body  of  their  husband. 

Up  in  the  city  of  Lahore  is  the  noted  mausoleum  of 
the  Ranjit  Singh's  Samadh.  In  the  centre,  on  an  ele- 
vated platform,  are  twelve  marble  lotus  flowers,  the 
central  one  covering  the  ashes  of  the  Ranjit,  and  the 
others  the  mortal  remains  of  his  four  wives  and  seven 
concubines,  all  of  whom  immolated  themselves  on  bis 
funeral  pyre.  That  holocaust  of  the  polygamous  wives 
and  concubines  that  composed  his  harem  was  an  awful 
indictment  of  the  religion  that  contended  for  the  con- 
tinuance of  this  most  barbaric  practice.  When  the 
prime  minister  of  Nepal  died  some  thirty  years  ago, 


5. 

i 


Benares 


103 


four  of  his  widows  were  burned  alive  with  his  body, 
for  Nepal  as  a  feudatory  or  indepeadent  state  did  not 
at  once  acknowledge  the  law  enacted  in  1829  for  the 
suppression  of  the  infamous  suttee  rite. 

The  Hon.  Mr.  Justice  Sankaran  Nair  in  the  Con- 
temporary  Review  for  August,  1911,  says:  "It  is  a 
matter  of  common  observation  that  almost  all  the  rules 
of  Hindu  law  in  favour  of  progress  were  laid  by  Eng- 
lish judges  against  the  protest  of  Hindu  judges  of  great 
eminence.  That  English  judges  have  not  yet  succ^ded 
in  stopping  the  consecration  of  young  girls  to  prostitu- 
tion in  temples,  and  that  they  hesitate  to  enforce  the 
provisions  of  the  Penal  Code  and  root  out  the  institu- 
tion of  dancing  g^'ls  by  treating  their  usages  as  im- 
moral, is  perhaps  one  of  the  latest  concessions  to  Indian 
judicial  opinion." 

"  Burning  a  widow  al.  on  the  death  of  her  husband 
was  declared  a  crime  about  1830,  despite  the  indignant 
protest  of  orthodoxy."  "  It  seems  inconceivable  to  a 
person  who  has  come  under  the  influence  of  Western 
civilization  to  ima^ne  that  anybody  was  ever  found  to 
advocate  as  a  religious  duty  the  burning  of  a  widow 
alive  on  the  death  of  her  husband,  and  one  would  think 
that  if  certain  diseased  minds  ever  carried  out  that 
theory  in  practice,  it  had  only  to  be  denounced  to  be 
put  an  end  to;  yet  when  the  great  Indian  reformer, 
Rammohun  Roy,  denounced  that  practice,  he  met  with 
stout  opposition ;  and  this  was  the  more  remarkable 
because  in  Bengal,  where  he  began  his  agitation,  sati 
was  carried  out  in  a  revolting  manner.  There  the  prac- 
tice was  to  bind  down  the  widow  with  the  corpse  of  her 
husband,  and  then  pile  upon  her  such  a  quantity  of 
wood  that  she  could  not  rise ;  and  when  the  fire  was 


1^ 


Jl-l 


104   The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

applied  to  the  pile  she  was  forcibly  held  down  with 
bamboos." 

The  judge  quotes  some  passages  that  the  Brahman 
priests  employed  in  order  to  persuade  widows  to  ascend 
the  funeral  pile  for  self-immolation,  and  who  were  re- 
sponsible for  this  barbaric  practice  in  the  name  of  the 
Hindu  religion.  "  That  woman  who  on  the  death  of 
her  husband  ascends  the  burning  pile  with  him  is  ex- 
alted to  heaven,  an  equal  to  Arundhati.  She  who  fol- 
lows her  husband  to  another  world  shall  dwell  in  a 
region  of  joy  for  so  many  years  as  there  are  hairs  in 
the  human  body,  or  thirty-five  millions."  "  The  woman 
who  follows  her  hush  i  expiates  the  sins  of  three 
races :  her  father's  line,  her  mother's  line,  and  the 
family  of  his  to  whom  she  was  given  a  virgin."  "  There 
is  no  other  way  known  for  a  virtuous  woman  except  as- 
cending the  pile  of  her  husband.  It  should  be  under- 
stood that  there  is  no  duty  whatever  after  the  death  of 
her  husband." 

"  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  in  the  face  of  these  ex- 
tracts it  is  impossible  to  deny  that  the  abolition  of  sati 
was  opposed  to  the  modern  Hindu  sacred  law ;  and 
they  are  here  referred  to  to  show  that  an  exegesis 
which  can  supply  so  many  sacred  authorities  for  this 
horrible  practice  cannot  be  in  want  of  similar  holy  in- 
junctions to  support  almost  any  detestable  superstition." 

It  is  not  easy  to  account  for  such  a  barbarous  prac- 
tice among  a  civilized  people  and  under  the  sanction 
and  encouragement  of  religion.  It  ought  to  have  been 
especially  abhorrent  to  the  Hinaus,  among  whom  all 
life  is  held  so  sacred,  even  of  the  most  insignificant 
creatures  and  including  the  deadly  cobra,  and  yet, 
strange  and  shocking  as  it  must  seem  to  us,  they  ap- 


Benares 


105 


peared  to  lapse  into  the  savage  state  when  they  en- 
couraged the  burning  of  widows  on  the  funeral  pyre  of 
the  dead  husband. 

We  saw  some  repulsive  features  in  connection  with 
the  many  cremations  that  we  witnessed,  especially 
among  the  poor  who  could  barely  provide  fuel  enough 
to  reduce  the  body,  and  often  the  skull  and  large  bones 
and  joints  remained  among  the  dying  embers  and  which 
were  collected  together  and  cast  into  the  river.  The 
undertakers  differ  greatly  from  ours  for  there  is  no 
hearse  nor  casket  and  flowers ;  but  the  undertaker  en- 
gages to  cremate  the  body,  and  he  provides  the  quan- 
tity of  wood  paid  for,  and  the  torch  to  light  it  after  it 
has  been  arranged  in  a  funeral  pyre  for  the  body. 

The  space  at  the  different  ghats  is  limited  so  that 
only  a  few  cremations  can  take  place  at  the  same  time, 
and  the  other  bodies  that  are  borne  thither  are  laid  by 
the  edge  of  the  river,  with  their  feet  in  the  sacr^ 
waters  that  confer  merit  even  upon  the  dead ;  and  the 
fact  that  these  corpses  are  filled  with  the  innumerable 
germs  of  various  deadly  diseases  do  not  act  as  a  deter- 
rent upon  the  living  fanatics  who  sip  the  same  waters  a 
few  rods  away,  for  they  experience  no  qualms  from  such 
indiscretions,  lor  these  sacred  waters  sanctify  all  things 
whether  living  or  dead. 

Whilst  we  had  been  occupied  with  these  gruesome 
scenes  our  attention  was  suddenly  called  to  a  far  more 
agreeable  and  festive  one.  There  were  a  number  of 
pleasure  boats  on  the  river  with  brilliant  decorations 
and  all  the  occupants  were  dressed  in  their  best  costume, 
for  they  were  celebrating  the  festivities  of  a  wedding. 
It  was  a  unique  ceremony,  for  the  ends  of  two  bales  of 
cloth  were  fastened  to  the  shore  by  a  boatman,  on 


io6  The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 


55  ._ 


i   y 


i ; 


either  side  of  the  boat  that  bore  the  happy  ooaple,  and 
as  they  rowed  across  the  river  the  cloth  was  gradaally 
unrolled  and  taken  up  in  festoons  by  those  in  the  boats 
that  followed,  until  the  opposite  side  was  reached. 
Then  they  returned  and  rolled  up  the  cloth  again. 

We  witnessed  several  of  these  joyful  occasions  and 
they  formed  a  striking  contrast  with  the  sombre  and 
mournful  scenes  that  we  beheld  at  the  ghats.  The  con- 
trast was  emphasized  by  the  proximity,  but  neither 
seemed  to  be  in  the  least  affected  by  the  other,  for  they 
appeared  to  be  as  indifferent  to  the  ways  of  the  others 
as  though  they  had  absolutely  nothing  in  common.  To 
begin  the  journey  of  life  as  husband  and  wife  by  cross- 
ing the  Ganges  ensured  blessings  for  the  future,  tor 
even  their  pleasures  are  not  without  a  religious  signifi- 
cance. 

Among  all  the  holy  places  in  Benares  the  Golden 
Temple  has  the  preeminence ;  not  because  of  any  mag- 
nificent proportions  or  architectural  splendour,  for  it  is 
lacking  in  these  features,  and  none  of  the  hundreds  of 
temples  in  this  city  can  be  compared  with  the  many 
vast  and  magnificent  ones  in  Southern  India.  It  has  a 
picturesque  exterior  with  its  five  domes,  the  largest  one 
in  the  centre  rising  above  the  others,  and  all  said  to  be 
covered  with  the  precious  plate  of  thinly  beaten  gold. 
The  transcendent  sacredness  of  this  place  is  due  to  the 
famous  Well  of  Knowledge  situated  in  the  centre  of  a 
quadrangular  courtyard  that  separates  the  Golden  Tem- 
ple from  a  mosque,  for  the  god  Siva  has  his  abode 
there  and  this  is  sufBcient  attraction  for  his  millions  of 
votaries. 

I  wished  the  well  had  overflowed  and  flushed  the 
place  just  before  our  visit  for  the  immediate  surround- 


Benares 


107 


ings  were  exceedingly  filthy,  owing  to  the  presence  of 
several  bolls  and  cows  that  defiled  the  place  and  even 
the  platform  that  covered  the  welL  In  the  bottom 
they  tell  us  lies  the  celebrated  idol  of  Siva  dropped 
by  the  chief  priest  to  preserve  it  from  the  profane 
invaders  when  the  old  temple  was  destroyed.  No 
one  questions  the  evidence  nor  doubts  the  sanctifying 
and  enlightening  presence  of  that  wonderful  but  in- 
visible image,  and  for  centuries  the  thirsty  pilgrims 
drink  its  filthy  waters  which  the  attendant  pours  from 
a  ladle  into  their  hands,  or  bowl.  There  are  openings 
in  the  platform  through  which  the  rice  and  offerings 
of  flowers  are  thrown,  and  all  the  filth  from  men  and 
beasts  that  is  washed  down  into  the  well,  to  be  drawn 
up  again  and  drank,  is  sufficient  to  increase  the  spe- 
cific gravity  and  indefinable  flavour,  as  well  as  to  ren- 
der it  unfit  to  drink.  In  the  West  we  speak  of  the 
Well  of  Knowledge  as  being  pure  and  undefiled,  but 
this  cannot  be  said  of  the  Hindu  Well  of  Knowledge 
at  Benares. 

The  roof  is  supported  by  forty  columns  but  the 
many  bulls  and  cows  give  it  the  appearance  of  a 
stable.  The  Brahman  who  poured  out  the  wator 
would  have  made  a  successful  auctioneer,  for  he  pro- 
claimed the  virtues  of  the  waters  with  a  loud  voice 
and  did  a  driving  business.  The  rush  equalled  that  for 
the  entrance  to  a  circus  and  there  was  a  continual  din 
from  gongs  and  the  cries  of  men  and  women,  coming 
and  going,  but  amid  all  the  confusion,  mad  rush,  crowd- 
ing and  scolding  and  bullying,  they  never  once  came 
to  blows. 

In  all  the  motley  jostling  cruwd,  the  conspicuous  ones 
that  never  lost  composure,  but  maintained  a  dignified 


io8   The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 


I  '•■«  ,  'i '  i 


i 


th  ' 


r     i 


I 


% 


reserve,  were  the  lordly  bulls  that  had  advanced  to  the 
very  centre  of  interest,  evidently  attracted  by  their 
thirst  for  the  water  drawn  from  the  Well  of  Knowl- 
edge, and  one  of  the  finest  specimens  of  the  bovine  herd 
stood  on  the  platform  and  directly  in  front  of  the 
Brahman  priest.  He  was  familiar  with  the  place  and 
was  utterly  indifferent  to  his  surroundings  for  he  was 
undisturbed  by  the  accustomed  noise  and  crowding, 
and  no  one  was  impatient  with  his  occupying  the  cov- 
eted place,  for  his  presence  would  greatly  add  to  the 
n>erit  and  sanctity  of  the  place. 

It  was  a  rare  place  for  reflection  upon  the  vagaries 
of  Hinduism  run  mad,  and  the  bulls  and  cows  appeared 
to  be  the  most  normal  of  all  the  creatures  gathered 
there.  Religious  fanaticism,  ignorance  and  superstition 
had  ret:ched  their  limit  of  excess.  The  atmosphere  was 
warm  and  foul  and  it  was  only  the  excessive  interest 
that  held  us  so  long,  for  here  the  very  frenzy  of  relig- 
ious fanaticism  reaches  its  climax.  Many  of  the  dev- 
otees drank  the  water  from  their  hands  or  snatched  *lie 
bowl  with  frantic  haste ;  and  others  bathed  their  faces 
with  it  and  then  rushed  through  the  crowd  with  the 
look  of  despair,  as  they  hastened  away  to  some  other 
holy  place  and  in  the  hope  that  they  might  find  peace 
for  the  souL  No  sacrifice  was  too  great  if  they  could 
only  satisfy  that  longing.  That  was  the  object  of  their 
quest  in  making  the  long  pilgrimage  and  enduring 
great  hardships  in  order  to  reach  the  holy  Benares 
and  pay  their  devotions  at  its  holy  places.  Did  they 
find  the  goal  of  that  search? 

As  I  looked  upon  t"  ^e  frenzied  faces  of  some  of  the 
pilgrims  who  hurriedly  drank  the  bowl  of  water  as 
though  it  were  a  salutary  drink,  I  thought  that  what- 


r      I 


•^it 


Benares 


109 


ever  virtues  it  may  lack,  it  wu  not  indpid,  and  I 
thought  that  the  elderly  Scotch  lady  could  not  have 
found  the  objection  to  this  water  that  she  did  when 
the  new  supply  of  water  was  brought  into  her  dty,  for 
when  the  committee  asked  her  how  she  liked  it,  she  re- 
plied :  «  Oh,  there  is  no  taste  to  it."  There  must  be  a 
positive  taste  to  the  water  from  this  Well  of  Knowl- 
edge. 

As  a  matter  of  fact  the  sacred  animals  mentioned 
have  the  right  of  way  about  all  holy  places  in  Benares, 
and  there  was  not  nefrom  which  they  were  prohibited, 
but  everywhere  unrestricted  freedom  was  accorded 
them.  We  were  surprised  to  see  them  at  the  ghats, 
and  in  temples  from  which  foreigners  were  excluded, 
and  they  wandered  at  liberty  through  the  streets  and 
by  the  stands  loaded  with  fruits  and  vegetables  and 
where  the  helped  themselves  without  ceremony,  and 
without  money  and  without  price.  Their  sacred  char- 
acter exempted  them  from  censure,  or  chastisement,  al- 
though any  man,  woman  or  chUd  who  would  have 
committed  such  highway  robbery  would  have  been 
severely  dealt  with,  but  to  strike  with  a  blow  these 
favoured  lords  from  the  quadruped  kingdom  would 
have  been  an  unpardonable  sin. 

On  the  contrary  these  superstitious  merchijits  rather 
coveted  the  meritorious  presence  of  these  animals  al- 
though they  must  often  have  annoyed  them  by  their 
provoking  manner  of  overturning  a  table  of  fruit  upon 
the  ground,  "^he  Western  women  often  felt  timid 
when  crowded  through  narrow  places  by  the  bovine 
species,  but  we  were  assured  that  they  were  quite  in- 
offensive,  for  whilst  they  were  not  human  they  ap- 
proached the  divine.    To  appreciate  this  fact  we  must 


*l;'i| 


I  I 


1 10  The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

understand  that  they  teaoh  that  these  ftnimah  are  so 
saored  that  this  sanctity  adheres  to  the  minutest  par- 
ticle, even  to  a  single  hair,  and  none  are  to  be  thrown 
away ;  and  these  animals  being  so  excessively  sacred 
within  as  well  as  without,  nothing  that  proceeds  from 
them  can  defile,  but  only  sanctifies  the  place  and  every- 
thing with  which  it  comes  in  contact,  and  even  the 
ashes  of  the  cow-dung  is  so  potent  in  its  ceremonial 
eflBcacy  as  to  transform  the  Hindu  sinner  into  a  saint 
merely  by  sprinkling  it  over  his  body. 

Not  only  is  the  worship  of  the  bull  and  cow  pi^ 
eminent  among  all  the  animals  in  the  Hindu  pantheon, 
but  the  bull  has  the  marked  distinction  of  being  dedi- 
cated to  the  great  god  Siva,  and  is  insepar^.bly  as- 
sociated with  him  in  his  special  function,  and  his  images 
may  be  seen  at  the  linga  shrines.  It  is  a  coveted 
privilege  on  the  part  of  the  men  of  wealth  to  turn  one 
of  these  sleek  animals  loose  to  wander  at  will  about 
the  temples,  shrines  and  bazaars  as  the  distinguished 
representative  of  the  chief  god  of  Benares,  for  it  en- 
sures great  merit,  and  no  wonder  that  we  are  jostled 
by  so  many  of  them  in  the  crowded  places. 

I  saw  countless  numbers  of  emaciated  and  half-fed 
men,  women  and  children  who  were  on  the  verge  of 
starvation,  some  looking  like  living  skeletons,  but  I 
never  saw  a  bull  or  cow  so  underfed  as  to  remind  me 
of  the  lean  kine  that  Pharaoh  saw  in  his  dream.  I 
saw  mothers  with  their  starving  babes  in  the  crowde< 
bazaars  and  no  man  gave  to  them,  but  the  buUs  were 
allowed  to  eat  freely  from  the  stands,  and  the  poor 
Hindu  women  did  not  clamour  at  such  inhuman  in- 
justice and  invidious  distinctions,  for  they  were  held 
by  the  grip  of  their  religious  customs. 


-i  ^^'r 


i  i 


4  >      1 


! 


■if 


Benares 


111 


Christianity  following  the  Gospel  teaches  that  human 
beings  are  created  in  Ood's  image  and  worth  far  more 
than  an  ox,  but  Hinduism  teachet]  that  a  cow  or  a  bull 
is  far  superior  to  a  woman,  and  hence  that  animal  is 
allowed  rare  privileges  and  grows  fat,  whilst  woman  is 
degraded  and  impcveribhed.  The  cow  in  virtue  of  hw 
abundant  utility,  if  not  necessity  to  the  life  of  mankind 
in  India,  won  for  her  even  in  the  early  history  of  the 
country  a  prominent  and  secure  place  of  distinction 
among  the  sacred  beings  that  often  rivalled  the  honours 
paid  to  the  multitudinous  gods. 

In  those  remote  times  when  with  confused  ideas  they 
failed  in  their  discrimination  between  gods  and  men, 
the  cow  became  exalted  to  a  divine  station  that 
woman  had  not  reached,  and,  in  the  sacred  literature 
of  the  Atharveda,  was  placed  among  the  beings  to 
whom  worship  was  given,  without  stint  or  qualiQca* 
tion.  There  has  been  no  revision  of  this  animal 
deification  in  Hinduism  to  this  day,  for  bulls  and  cows 
have  the  right  of  way,  though  college  professors  were 
excluded  from  many  of  the  temples  to  which  these 
irrational  animals  had  access.  Not  far  away  there  is  a 
temple  wholly  dedicated  to  the  special  use  of  the  cows, 
and  from  which  all  but  the  elect  are  excluded.  I 
wanted  a  photograph  of  the  interior  that  housed  the 
sacred  animals,  but  even  the  coin  of  the  realm  only 
secured  for  me  a  place  in  the  portal  tar  I  was  not 
allowed  to  cross  the  threshold  lest  the  place  should 
suffer  pollution,  and  the  passing  women  counted  them- 
selves fortunate  in  being  able  to  catch  a  glimpse  of  the 
holy  interior,  for  their  presence  would  defile  the  sanctity 
of  the  temple  reserved  for  the  exclusive  use  of  those 
exalted  creatures. 


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1 1 2  The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

I  frequently  saw  men  seriously  engaged  in  the  par- 
ticularly meritorious  act  of  stroking  the  side  and  back 
of  the  cow,  but  some  seemed  to  have  reached  the  ex< 
treme  limit  of  the  cow  cult  when  they  crawled  humbly 
and  reverently  towards  the  passive  demigod,  and  tak 
ing  hold  of  the  tail  held  it  firmly  for  the  transferrence 
of  a  current  of  virtue  frum  the  divine  source  into  their 
degraded  self.  Then  they  pressed  it  to  their  lips  with 
a  smack  of  satisfaction  for  this  bovine  fellowship. 

I  met  an  American  on  a  steamer  from  Bombay  to 
Suez  who  had  been  utterly  misled  by  this  strange 
attachment  to  the  cow,  and  was  extravagant  in  his 
praise  of  Hinduism  because  of  the  affection  that  the 
people  show  to  the  animals,  for  he  said  that  he  had 
seen  many  men  caressing  the  cow.  I  assured  him  that 
he  was  very  much  mistaken,  and  that  the  men  whom 
he  saw  stroking  the  back  of  the  cow  were  not  caress- 
ing it  as  an  expression  of  their  fond  affection  for  the 
cow,  but  because  of  their  supreme  concern  for  them- 
selves, for  the  "  Institutes  of  Yishnu,"  Chapter  XXIII, 
page  60,  says :  "  Scratching  the  back  of  a  cow  destroys 
all  guilt."  Hence  the  man,  instead  of  being  interested 
in  caressing  *he  cow,  was  only  stroking  the  back  of 
that  animal  for  his  own  sake,  to  rub  out  the  debit 
account  of  his  guilt,  and  if  such  an  easy  process  were 
effective  many  men  in  America,  who  are  reaping  what 
they  have  sown,  would  invest  in  a  cow  or  two  to  escape 
the  suffering  of  misdeeds. 

We  first  saw  the  Saddhus,  ghost-like  in  appearance 
from  their  asLen  covering,  sitting  outside  the  gateway 
to  the  great  temple  in  Madura,  gently  stroking  the 
favourite  animal.  I  would  not  say  that  no  Hindu  ever 
caressed  a  cow,  for  some  in  their  confused  thought  and 


I  I 


Benares 


»»3 


feeling  as  to  the  extreme  belief  in  the  sacred  character 
of  the  cow  might  be  inspired  with  a  feeling  of  love 
from  a  sense  of  gratitude  to  give  expression  to  that 
g!  :•  itude  by  caressing  the  animal,  but  that  is  not  the 
d  -ign  as  clearly  stated  in  the  "  Institutes  of  Vishnu," 
no  more  than  our  afflicted  ones  gave  their  blood  to  the 
leech  out  of  love  to  that  worm-Like  creature  but  solely 
to  get  rid  of  their  own  ailment.  It  was  for  self  and 
not  for  the  sake  of  the  leech. 

There  is  one  unique  and  most  attractive  place  for  all 
the  sick  and  infirm  who  come  to  Benares  and  that  is 
the  sacred  Well  of  Healing,  the  celebrated  Manikamika, 
a  quadrangular  stone  basin  or  tank  thirty-five  feet 
square  with  about  three  feet  of  water  and  which  is 
reached  by  steps  on  the  four  sides.  The  name  means  a 
jewel  for  the  ear,  and  was  given  to  this  well  according 
to  an  interesting  legend  that  the  god  Vishnu  excavated 
this  basin  with  his  discus  and  pei'spired  so  freely  during 
the  exercise  that  it  became  filled  with  the  perspiration 
from  his  body  instead  of  water.  But  whilst  this  re- 
markable event  was  transpiring  the  god  Siva  appeared 
on  the  scene  and  he  became  so  exhilarated  by  the  flat- 
tering compliment  that  the  other  great  god  Vishnu 
paid  him,  that  he  was  almost  convulsed  with  laughter 
and  one  of  his  earrings  was  shaken  off  and  dropped 
into  the  well,  thereby  increasing  its  sanctity  and  effi- 
ciency. 

Whilst  it  is  held  as  most  sacred,  its  appearances  and 
disgusting  odours  are  against  it,  owing  to  the  variety 
of  offerings  of  milk,  sweetmeats  and  flowers  thrown 
into  it  since  the  legendary  earring  fell  to  the  bottom, 
and  which  cannot  neutralize  the  offensive  odours  aris- 
ing from  the  decaying  matter.    Besides,  thousands  of 


•<¥  B 


ij 

y 

i 


!      ! 


1 1 


i 


ii  ^' 


\  ! 


U  I 


-  .1 


1 14  The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

pilgrims  who  suffer  from  all  manner  of  diseases,  and 
cutaneous  ones  as  well,  partly  bathe  in  these  healing 
waters.  Many  were  so  sick  and  infirm  that  they  were 
carried  by  their  friends,  and  their  emaciated  skeleton 
forms  were  laid  upon  the  hard  stone  steps  so  that  then- 
hands  or  feet  at  least  might  touch  the  salutary  waters. 
They  lay  on  no  rug  or  cushion,  and  the  only  protection 
or  covering  was  the  scant  loin  cloth,  a  sad  picture  of 
the  despair  of  Hinduism. 

The  priests  and  attendants  were  loud  in  proclaiming 
the  virtues  of  this  well  and  in  collecting  the  fees.  I 
saw  them  urging  the  people  to  pay  for  garlands  of 
flowers  that  they  hung  about  their  neck  for  a  moment 
and  then  cast  to  the  gotl  in  the  well,  and  later  I  saw 
them  fish  out  of  the  same  filthy  pool  garlands  that  had 
lost  all  their  fragrance  and  purity,  if  not  their  virtue, 
and  which  were  made  to  do  service  for  other  pilgruns 
who  wore  them  for  a  few  moments  and  then  threw 
them  into  the  well  as  an  offering  to  Siva.  Time  and 
again  I  went  to  this  well  to  contemplate  the  scene  and 
get  impressions  of  Hinduism  in  the  very  centre  of  its 
stronghold,  and  see  it  at  work,  without  hindrance,  and 
witness  its  unadulterated  works.  These  fruits  were  its 
own  condemnation. 

After  Macbeth  had  committed  the  foul  murder  of 
King  Duncan,  conscience  smote  him,  as  he  looked  upon 
his  blood-stained  hand,  and  Shakespeare  makes  him 
startle  and  exclaim :  "Will  all  great  Neptune's  ocean 
wash  this  blood  clean  from  my  hand?  No:  this  mv 
hand  will  rather  the  multitudinous  seas  incarnadine, 
making  the  green  one  red." 

Had  he  been  a  devout  Brahman  priest  he  might  have 
substituted  for  his  wail  of  despair  the  advice  to  go  to 


Benares 


»>5 


Benares  and  bathe  in  that  far-famed  sacred  well  of 
Manikamika,  and  which  would  wash  away  the  stain  of 
sin  committed,  even  that  of  foul  murder. 

In  the  southern  suburbs  of  the  city  is  located  the 
Durga  or  Monkey  Ttnple  as  it  is  familiarly  called  and 
which  has  been  espeoially  dedicated  to  these  nondescript 
creatures,  but  who  are  not  regarded  by  the  Hindus 
as  our  ancestors  but  as  the  descendants  of  divine  ones. 
Notwithstanding  such  lordly  ancestors  they  are  a  nui- 
sance to  the  comm  mity,  for  they  utterly  disregard 
proprieties  and  the  rights  of  others.  "We  often  saw 
them  running  about,  with  tail  curled  over  the  back  and 
chattering  their  unintelligible  speech.  They  climbed 
the  trees  and  would  suspend  themselves  by  the  long 
tail,  swinging  back  and  forward  and  then  spring  to  a 
distant  branch,  or  dn  p  to  the  ;5round.  They  recognize 
no  law  against  trespassing,  but  entered  the  houses, 
went  up-stairs,  and  out  on  the  ■  -undas  and  terraces  and 
across  the  roofs  and  entered  x-ooms,  eating  whatever 
they  could  find,  and  they  are  destructive,  for  there 
are  great  numbers  of  them  and  none  are  molested, 
owing  to  the  quasi-divine  character  attributed  to  them 
because  of  their  association  with  Hanuman,  the  famous 
monkey  god  whom  they  have  enthroned  in  the  pan- 
theon of  Hinduism. 

"Whilst  poor  children  and  their  mothers  suffer  from 
want,  and  millions  go  hungry  and  lack  the  barest 
necessities  of  life,  and  drag  out  a  miserable  existence; 
without  sufficient  food  to  properly  nourish  the  body, 
never  did  I  see  a  starving  monkey.  They  were  always 
well  fed  and  frisky  and  no  one  would  have  them  go 
hungry,  but  would  rather  regard  it  as  a  distinction  and 
favour  to  have  these  interesting  quadrupeds  sneak  into 


i      H 


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1 16  The       d  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

the  kitchen  and  help  themselves  with  whatever  thej 
might  find  in  the  larder  to  satisfy  their  cravings. 
Hence  they  scamper  about  with  the  utmost  license  and 
do  not  have  to  labour  nor  worry  about  obtaining  a 
livelihood,  for  it  would  be  a  grievous  wrong  to  deny 
them  the  necessities  of  life. 

Inasmuch  as  Durga  is  another  form  of  Kali,  the  great 
goddess  of  modern  Hinduism,  her  blood-thirsty  pro- 
pensity is  sought  to  be  gratified  by  the  slaughter  of 
animals,  and  the  tender  kid  is  particularly  acceptable. 
Her  special  abode  is  at  the  famous  Kali  ghat  in  the 
suburbs  of  Calcutta,  and  she  has  millions  of  followers. 
Since  she  is  one  of  the  wives  of  Siva  it  is  not  strange 
that  she  has  a  temple  at  Benares  where  Siva  is  the 
chief  god. 

Because  ceremonies  connected  with  the  Kali  ghat 
are  of  unusual  interest  I  shall  introduce  a  description 
of  what  we  witnessed  there  instead  of  making  reference 
to  the  minor  temple  of  Benares,  and  which  cannot  be 
compared  with  the  one  at  Calcutta.  Whilst  this  mighty 
goddess  is  revolting  in  appearance  she  exerts  a  vast  in- 
fluence over  her  followers.  She  is  represented  under 
different  forms  and  names,  first  as  Parvati,  but  it  is  as 
Durga  that  she  displayed  her  invincible  power  and  ac- 
quired the  unrivalled  influence  among  the  people,  for 
she  overcame  the  dreaded  giant-demon  who  was  also 
known  by  the  name  of  Durga. 

Among  the  legends,  we  learn  from  Dr.  Duff  that 
this  marvellous  giant  brought  such  disaster  upon  gods 
and  men  that  the  overthrow  of  the  world  was  threatened, 
for  he  not  only  became  irresistible  among  human  beings 
but  he  had  dethroned  all  the  multitudinous  gods  except 
the   sacred    Triad,  and  the  helpless  underling  gods 


1       ! 


Benares 


117 


appealed  to  Siva  for  deliverance  in  their  misfortunes. 
His  heart  was  touched  and  he  requested  his  wife 
Parvati  to  destroy  the  giant  destroyer.  Durga  was 
not  dismayed  but  marshsUled  a  host  of  30,000  giants  of 
such  enormous  size  that  they  covered  the  face  of  the 
earth  besides  having  ten  millions  of  swift  footed  horses, 
ten  millions  of  chariots,  and  120,000,000  of  elephants, 
and  soldiers  as  numberless  as  the  leaves  of  the  forest, 
and  he  was  prepared  for  a  great  victory  as  he  moved 
forward  to  the  encounter  of  his  presumptuous  enemy. 

But  he  knew  not  the  mighty  powers  of  his  uncon- 
querable foe,  and  Parvati  awaited  the  shock  of  battle 
without  fear.  The  vast  army  darkened  the  heavens 
with  arrows  that  were  discharged  at  her,  and  the  great 
giants  tore  up  trees  and  rocks  and  hurled  them  at  her, 
but  the  goddess  turned  them  all  away  from  their  course, 
and  she  sent  forth  from  her  body  millions  of  strange 
beings  that  destroyed  the  entire  army,  and  the  great 
Durga  alone  was  spared.  In  rage  he  hurled  flaming 
darts  at  her  but  in  vain,  and  finally  he  broke  off  a  peak 
of  the  mountain  and  hurled  it  towards  her,  but  she 
cleft  it  in  seven  pieces  by  her  spear. 

Then  he  assumed  the  form  of  an  elephant,  mountain 
in  size,  and  rushed  at  his  antagonist,  but  was  utterly 
destroyed  in  the  conflict.  The  strain  of  the  intense 
excitement  during  this  battle  and  the  signal  success 
threw  the  victorious  goddess  into  an  uncontrollable 
state  of  exultation  that  became  so  violent  as  to  shake 
and  threaten  the  destruction  of  the  universe,  but  all 
the  earnest  appeals  to  stop  her  dancing  that  had  rocked 
heaven  and  earth  were  unavailing.  Then  men  besought 
the  great  god  Siva  to  intercede  in  their  behalf,  but  she 
heeded  not  his  appeals.    Finally  in  a  £t  of  desperation 


i 


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I 


:|       .  ! 


1 18  The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

he  threw  himself  at  her  feet,  and  when  she  discovered 
that  she  was  dancing  upon  the  prostrate  body  of  her 
husband  she  thrust  out  her  long  red  tongue  and  laughed, 
and  the  threatened  disaster  of  the  universe  was  averted. 

It  reads  like  a  story  from  the  "  Arabian  Fights," 
and  if  the  common  people  ascribe  such  marvellous  powers 
to  Kali,  no  wonder  that  she  continues  to  attract  them  to 
her  chief  shrine  at  Calcutta.  Monier  Williams  states 
that  "at  least  one  thousand  distinct  appellations  are 
assigned  to  Parvati,  some  expressive  of  her  benignant, 
some  of  her  ferocious  character,"  of  which  Kali  is  one, 
and  who  is  '*  black  in  colour,  fierce  and  irascible  in 
character,"  and  potential  to  a  degree  that  appeals  to 
millions,  especially  of  the  women ;  and  hence  this  local 
digression. 

It  is  about  a  one-half  hour  drive  from  the  central  por- 
tion of  the  city  to  this  suburban  part  of  Calcutta,  and 
we  passed  many  ghats  along  the  river — where  we  saw 
the  unattractive  habitations  of  the  poor  who  lived  in 
sheds  that  could  not  be  dignified  with  the  name  of 
houses.  Their  rags  and  squalor  showed  their  depressed 
social  condition.  As  we  approached  the  temple  of 
Kali  we  found  the  narrow  street  crowded  with  zealous 
pilgrims  and  it  was  with  difficulty  that  we  succeeded 
in  elbowing  our  way  through  the  excited  multitude 
that  swarmed  about  the  entrance.  There  was  nothing 
beautiful  in  its  low  situation  nor  attractive  in  the  sur- 
roundings, nor  even  in  the  architecture  of  the  sacred 
buildings,  but  that  scene  of  humanity  was  one  of  absorb- 
ing interest,  for  it  was  a  rapidly  moving  picture  of  re- 
ligious devotion  to  their  mother  Kali. 

The  fact  that  it  was  a  high  day  of  unusual  interest  in 
their  calendar  was  a  fortunate  coincidence  for  us,  inas- 


.ft 


Benares 


S 


119 


much  as  there  was  an  unusual  number  of  pilgrims  present 
and  the  animals  sacrificed  on  the  occasion  exceeded  the 
number  slaughtered  on  ordinary  days  and  there  was  a 
more  elaborate  ceremonial.  There  were  two  points  of 
special  intarest  that  attracteu  us  most :  the  one  was  the 
place  of  bloody  sacrifice  and  the  other  was  the  holy 
shrine  that  enclosed  the  sacred  image  of  the  goddess. 
In  the  former  place  there  was  much  excitement  and 
the  women  were  greatly  in  excess  of  the  men,  and  some 
had  come  from  afar,  for  they  had  heard  of  the  marvellous 
powers  of  Kali  and  the  wonderful  blessings  that  some 
had  received  through  the  sacrifice  that  they  had  made 
at  this  far-famed  temple.  It  is  enclosed  by  a  high 
brick  wall  to  exclude  the  rabble,  and  a  small  fee  is 
collected  from  all  who  enter.  The  courtyard  had  the 
appearance  and  odour  of  a  slaughter  house,  for  many 
animals  had  been  slain  and  the  g^und  was  soaked 
with  blood. 

There  was  a  surging  crowd  and  the  vast  majority 
were  poor  in  this  world's  goods,  but  out  of  the  abundance 
of  their  intense  heartfelt  desires  they  had  practiced 
stern  self-denial  that  meant  poverty,  and  for  a  long 
time,  in  order  to  lay  aside  a  small  portion  of  their  scanty 
eamir.;?i,  to  make  possible  the  pilgrimage  that  was  so 
full  01  expectation.  There  were  some  features  that 
recalled  the  Jewish  Passover,  but  not  to  be  compared 
with  that  sacrifice  as  we  witnessed  it  in  all  its  vivid 
realism  on  Mt.  Gerizim. 

Whilst  the  pilgrims  come  to  the  Kali  ghat  to  offer 
their  bloody  sacrifice  to  the  black  goddess,  we  must 
not  misconstrue  the  significance  of  these  offerings  and 
confound  them  with  the  Old  Testament  sacrifices  that 
were  offered  for  the  expiation  of  sin,  for  there  is  no 


11 


el 


II    IJ 


'    1 . 

V  . 

i   «. 


Iff      ! 

I  : 
•' « i 
II  hi 


■J: 


1 20  The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

thought  of  atonement  connected  with  the  animaUt 
sacriticed  near  Calcutta  as  though  the  offerer  sought 
forgiveness  of  sin.  After  the  pilgrim  hai  procured 
the  kid  he  paid  a  small  fee  of  about  ilfteen  cents  to  the 
attending  i>riost  for  the  services  of  having  the  animals 
slain,  as  well  as  for  the  special  privilege  of  offering  the 
sacrifice  at  this  favoured  shrine. 

We  studied  the  interesting  faces  of  the  men  and 
women  who  came  with  this  living  sacrifice  ;  and  I  recall 
an  exceedingly  anxious  expression  of  a  modest  woman 
who  brought  her  own  kid,  and  in  her  devotion  kissed  it 
fervently  after  it  had  been  purified  by  the  water,  and 
then  turned  it  over  to  the  executioner  who  placed  the 
neck  in  a  "  V  "  shaped  wooden  fork  fixed  in  the  ground 
and  then  lowering  a  lever  across  the  neck  of  the  victim 
so  as  to  hold  it  firmly,  with  one  blow  from  a  cleaver 
the  head  was  severed  from  the  body,  and  the  former 
was  laid  before  the  shrine  in  the  presence  of  the  sacred 
image,  and  where  the  offerer  later  appeared  to  mutter  a 
few  words  and  then  disappear  among  the  crowd. 

The  open  platform  near  the  place  of  slaughter  was  a 
moving  mass  of  humanity  with  the  exception  of  a  few 
well  centred  Brahmen  who  were  engaged  in  reading 
the  mantras,  and  apparently  oblivious  to  all  their  sl 
roundings.  Among  the  motley  crowd  I  saw  several 
marked  representatives  of  the  Saddhus ;  the  one  was 
literally  loaded  down  or  clothed  with  chains,  in  lieu  of 
the  ordinary  clothing  worn  in  the  country,  for  he  was 
practicing  severe  austerities  so  as  to  increase  his  merit 
account,  for  the  cruel  Kali  is  supposed  to  be  pleased 
with  such  tortures  of  the  body. 

Another  member  of  the  same  class  was  even  more 
conspicuous  for  he  towered  head  and  shoulders  above 


El  • 


t 


Benares 


121 


the  oihen,  and  be  stalked  about  with  the  freedom  of  an 
animal,  for  he  rushed  about,  pushing  everything  before 
him  like  a  giant,  and  no  one  questioned  his  right  of 
way,  but  made  room  as  though  he  were  a  superior 
being.  lie  moved  about  with  the  freedom  of  an 
athlete  through  the  surging  throng,  and  apparently 
aimless,  mastered  only  by  the  one  supreme  thought  of 
bis  matchless  superiority.  I  never  saw  such  a  haughty 
mortal  before,  and  he  strode  about  unincumbered  by 
any  unnecessary  clothing,  for  he  wore  but  a  smidl 
patch,  not  as  much  as  decency  required,  for  his  only 
adornment  consisted  in  the  plain  iron  chains.  He  was 
tall  and  commanding  in  appearance  as  he  moved  like  a 
Hindu  god  among  the  obsetjuious  pilgrims  who  bowed 
him  reverence,  although  be  pushed  them  aside  with  as 
little  consideration  as  would  one  of  the  temple  bulls. 
The  lesser  satellites  of  the  ascetics  gazed  upon  him  with 
jealous  amazement,  for  he  was  easily  the  most  bizarre 
personage  at  the  Kali  ghat,  and  I  was  anxious  to  add 
him  to  my  collection  of  photographs.  Unfortunately 
he  rushed  hither  and  thither  through  the  crowd  that 
jostled  me  on  every  side,  that  I  had  to  take  my  chances 
as  to  focus  or  lose  my  opportunity  in  getting  a  snap 
shot  of  this  interesting  specimen  of  objective  Hindu 
fanaticism,  and  in  the  despair  of  my  photographic  ef- 
fort I  lost  his  head,  but  the  partial  success  illustrates 
certain  distinctive  characteristics  of  the  Saddhu  class, 
although  I  failed  to  get  his  portrait. 

Within  the  temple  proper  is  a  small  narrow  chamber 
or  shrine  that  contains  the  sacred  image  of  Kali,  but 
the  hideous  features  are  somewhat  relieved  by  the  dim 
religious  light.  In  the  grotesque  image  there  was  not 
the  remotest  suggestion  of  sympathy,  love  and  mercy, 


If 


J-   V  - 


VA 

h 


;fi 


■r 

3 


?      i 


i" 


122   The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

but  rather  the  blood-curdling  stories  of  the  Thugs  who 
claimed  the  special  protection  and  favour  of  Kali,  and 
under  whose  sanction  this  dreaded  fraternity  of  high- 
waymen robbed  and  murdered  in  accordance  with  the 
religious  rites  of  their  patron  goddess. 

What  Canon  Liddon  said  of  the  Divine  cannot  be 
said  of  this  famous  goddess  of  Hinduism :  "  The  idea  of 
God  kindles  in  the  soul  the  sense  of  beauty,  and  beauty 
that  meets  the  eye  suggests  the  immaterial  beauty  of 
the  invisible  King.  No  religion  can  afford  in  the  long 
run  to  neglect  this  instinct  in  the  soul  of  men."  This 
was  true  of  the  gotis  of  ancient  Greece  and  Rome  but 
there  are  some  remarkable  exceptions  in  the  Hindu 
pantheon,  and  the  grotesque  elephantine  head  of 
Genesa,  the  hideous  image  of  Juggernaut  and  the  re- 
pulsive one  of  Kali  are  remarkable  exceptions,  and  they 
still  exercise  their  sway  over  the  many  millions  of  fol- 
lowers. This  black  goddess  is  represented  with  four 
arras  and  in  one  of  her  right  hands  she  holds  the 
scimetar  with  which  she  struck  off  the  head  of  her 
enemy,  and  her  dress  and  ornamentation  consist  of  a 
girdle  of  human  hands  and  a  necklace  of  human  skulls, 
and  with  frenzied  look  she  protrudes  her  tongue. 

However  the  distinguished  Hindu  Jogendra  Nath 
Battacharya,  president  of  the  College  of  Pundits,  in  his 
authoritative  work  on  "  Hindu  Castes  and  Sects,"  puts 
a  much  worse  interpretation  upon  the  goddess,  for  on 
page  408  he  says :  "  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  image  of 
Kali,  that  Mr.  Murdock  of  the  Madras  Mission  has  at- 
tempted to  hold  up  to  ridicule,  is  a  thing  far  worse 
than  he  has  taken  it  to  be.  What  its  real  meaning  is  can- 
not possibly  be  explained  here.  Those  inclined  to  dive 
into  such  filth  must  study  the  ritual  for  Kali  worship." 


%' 


Benares  123 

No  doubt  this  eminent  scholar  knows  what  ho  is 
writing  about,  ani  as  a  native  Hindu  would  not  slander 
the  goddess  of  hia  own  country,  and  hence  we  may  well 
ask :  What  mural  and  spiritual  help  and  comfort  can 
the  people  get  from  worshipping  such  a  discredited 
being  whose  character  cannot  be  translated  into  Eng- 
lish ?  As  the  door  to  the  sacred  shrine  was  opened  for 
a  few  moments  whilst  they  were  permitted  to  get  a 
glance  of  the  hideous  image  of  the  goddess,  what  con- 
ceptions did  it  convey  to  them  and  what  impressions 
did  they  receive  ? 

The  people  are  supposed  to  come  either  in  the  hope 
of  obtaining  some  much  desired  future  blessing,  or  else 
to  present  an  offering  for  some  particular  blessing  al- 
ready received,  and  hence  it  is  either  a  sacrifice  in 
fulfillment  of  a  vow  or  a  pledge  of  some  offering  in 
return  for  a  blessing  not  yet  materialized.  Hence  they 
suspend  from  the  branches  of  the  trees  near  the  temple 
small  stones  or  lumps  of  clay,  similar  to  the  rags  that 
some  hang  on  the  trees  in  Syria,  but  as  pledges  that 
they  will  redeem  with  the  sacrifice  of  a  goat  whenever 
the  prayers  have  been  answered.  With  such  reserva- 
tion the  petitioner  is  perfectly  safe  in  withholding  his 
gift  until  Kali  has  bestowed  the  coveted  blessing. 

As  I  contemplated  the  simplicity  and  earnest  manner 
of  several  of  the  pilgrims  who  suspended  their  rude 
votive  offerings  from  the  boughs  of  the  sacred  trees 
near  by  the  temple,  with  a  prayer  and  fond  hope  that 
their  cherished  desire  might  some  day  be  realized, 
through  the  favoured  offices  of  the  goddess  Kali,  I  had 
vivid  impressions  of  a  thrilling  experience  through 
which  I  had  passed  years  ago  when  spending  some 
months  in  Palestine. 


t  fi . 


:  li 


f. 


ill 


•  1 1 


124  The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

It  was  towards  the  oloso  of  a  long  day^s  ride,  and 
when  we  were  still  some  niilus  from  our  camp,  that  we 
came  to  one  of  the  most  interutiting  of  the  nany  shrines 
scattered  over  the  mountainous  parts  of  Syria.  The 
plain  whitewashed  tomb,  with  its  roguhition  dome,  had 
been  decorated  for  a  special  occasion,  and  there  was  an 
unusual  number  of  bumuig  tafiers,  and  the  reverent 
manner  of  the  Mohammedans  was  an  evidence  of  the 
sanctify  of  that  shrine  and  the  hallowed  place  that  the 
departed  well  or  saint  had  in  their  hearts,  for  they  re- 
garded him  as  a  sort  of  local  divinity,  possessing  su^)er- 
human  power,  and  whilst  they  feared  to  offend  him  by 
any  acts  of  omission  or  commission,  they  sought  just  as 
scrupulously  to  gain  his  favour.  Inasmuch  as  his  spirit 
was  supposed  to  dwell  there,  the  place  itself  was  sacred 
and  not  to  be  violated  by  the  profane  intrusion  of  an y 
outcasto.  Because  of  the  special  occasion  that  had 
drawn  them  together  for  this  annual  ceremony,  they 
were  unusually  fanatical  and  not  only  manifested  their 
displeasure  at  our  presence  but  <fniered  the  dragoman 
to  leave  with  us  at  once.  Their  .mgry  looks,  threaten- 
ing signs,  and  liarsh  mutterings  were  a  language  that 
we  could  not  mistake,  and  we  were  ready  to  leave 
without  ceremony  or  protest. 

In  the  midst  of  excitement  and  hurry  the  unfortu- 
nate thing  happened,  for  in  leaving  the  tomb  we  passed 
by  the  sacred  tr  s  only  a  few  yards  away.  It  was  a 
large  oak  or  terebinth  with  wide  spr«uiing  branches, 
and  the  lower  ones  almort  reached  the  ground.  To 
these  hundreds  of  small  strips  of  rags  had  been  at- 
tached at  various  times  by  anxious  souls,  aiuj  for  secret 
purposes  as  diverse  as  the  different  bits  of  cloth,  for 
they  were  as  variegated  as  Joseph's  famous  coat  of 


I 


t 


Benares 


»»5 


nuny  ooloure.  But  each  piece  8U8|)ended  there, 
whether  white,  red,  blue,  yellow  or  green,  represented 
a  votive  offering  that  was  inseparable  from  some  hum- 
ble vow  or  prayer  uiailo  by  the  Moslem  who  had  tied 
it  securely  to  the  bough  with  the  hope  that  the  abiding 
spirit  of  that  saint  or  local  divinity  might  be  moved  to 
intercede  in  their  behalf.  Whilst  those  innumerable 
bits  of  variously  coloured  cloth  did  not  add  to  the 
beauty  of  that  tree,  neither  did  they  conceal  its  verdant 
attractions  from  the  jxxjrly  fed  animal  on  which  I  rode, 
for  he  saw  the  passing  opportunity,  and  yielding  to  the 
impulse  of  his  insatiable  instinct,  ho  suddenly  raised 
his  head  and  snatched  a  tempting  branch  of  the  sacred 
tree  with  the  votive  rags  attached,  and  these  he  began 
greedily  to  devour. 

It  was  a  shocking  case  of  sacrilege  and  in  holy  horror 
at  what  might  happen  the  men  threw  up  their  hands 
in  dread  of  the  direful  consequences,  for  the  spirit  of 
the  departed  saint  was  in  some  way  connected  with 
that  sacred  bough,  whilst  the  hopes  and  prayers  of  the 
petitioner  had  been  breathed  into  that  bit  of  cloth,  and 
now  they  were  grossly  profaned  by  being  devoured  by 
a  horse,  and  however  confused  their  ideas  may  have 
been  as  to  the  possible  results  great  confusion  followed, 
and  I  had  become  the  abhorred  but  innocent  victim  of 
circumstances.  In  short  my  animal  had  unwittingly 
exposed  me  to  their  .-'olent  outburst  of  religious  frenzy, 
and  their  horrible  execrations  equalled  those  that  once 
feU  upon  the  ears  or  the  Apostle  Paul  when  the  frenzied 
mob  at  Jerusalem  shouted  their  murderous  anger: 
"  Away  with  such  a  fellow  from  the  earth,  for  it  is  not 
fit  that  he  should  live." 

Several  of  the  infuriated  Mohammedans  rushed  upon 


.# 


n 


f 


■)   -ii 


126  The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

me  like  madmen.  They  grabbed  the  head  of  the  im- 
pious beast  and  pulled  from  its  jaws  all  that  remained 
of  the  abstracted  branch  and  rags.  I  was  in  no  way 
responsible  for  the  unfortunate  occurrence  that  I  greatly 
regretted,  for  my  attention  had  been  directed  to  the 
threatening  attitude  of  the  men  who  had  driven  us  from 
the  shrine,  and  I  had  no  thought  of  my  horse  but  they 
seemed  determined  to  wreak  their  vengeance  upon  me, 
and  a  stalwart  fellow,  showing  his  teeth  in  anger,  and 
with  clenched  fist  began  to  pound  me  unmercifully, 
and  as  my  thigh  was  not  an  anvil  I  could  not  endure 
many  such  blows,  and  my  only  hope  was  in  flight, 
and  pressing  the  spurs  hard  into  my  animal  he  darted 
forward  and  I  escaped  the  enraged  and  unreasonable 
fanatics. 

After  some  experience  I  am  convinced  that  there  is 
no  such  thing  as  "horse  sense"  so  far  as  the  unre- 
strained and  unsatisfied  propensity  of  that  animal  for 
indiscriminate  eating  and  gnawing  is  concerned.  You 
may  take  him  from  a  well  provided  stall,  but  if  a  few 
minutes  later  you  stop  in  front  of  a  neighbour's  home, 
that  horse  will  at  once  begin  to  stretch  his  neck  full 
length  for  anything  within  reach,  from  the  short  grass 
along  the  curb,  to  the  flowers  and  shrubbery,  and  over- 
hanging branches  of  the  tree,  or  the  bark  of  the  trunk, 
and  if  possible  he  will  even  gnaw  the  comer  of  the 
house  as  well  as  the  wooden  or  even  iron  post  to 
which  you  may  have  tethered  him.  Hence,  let  the 
traveller  guard  well  against  these  morbid  tendencies 
when  riding  near  sacred  trees  in  the  Orient,  and  not  in 
Syria  alone  but  in  India  also,  for  you  would  not  escape 
with  impunity  should  your  horse  attempt  to  feed  upon 
a  branch  of  a  sacred  tree  at  the  Kali  ghat  where  may  be 


h 


fH« 


Benares 


»27 


seen  many  striking  examples  of  religions  fanaticism 
run  mad. 

As  I  reflected  upon  some  of  the  extravagant  and  ir- 
reconcilable contradictions  witnessed  at  the  latter  place 
I  could  not  but  wonder  at  the  marked  inconsistency 
that  prevails  among  the  leaders  of  the  Hindus,  for  it  is 
strange  that  Brahman  priests  who  so  scrupulously  hold 
all  life  as  sabred,  mth   the  once  notable  exception  of 
widows,  should  make  this  remarkable  exception  by  of- 
ficiating at  the  temple  of  Kali  where  great  numbers  of 
goats  and  buflfaloes  have  been  sacrificed  in  the  name  of 
religion,  and  which  holocaust  is  unrivaUed  by  any  other 
city  m  the  world.    This  peculiar  rite  and  exception  to 
Hmduism  has  been  explained  to  be  due  to  an  event 
during  the  destructive  wars  of  the  goddess,  for  on  a 
certain  day  when,  faint  from  lack  of  nourishment  and 
finding  nothing  else,  she  drank  the  blood  of  her  ene- 
mies, and  hence  the  people  still  offer  up  the  blood  sacri- 
fices m  the  belief  that  blood  is  still  pleasing  to  her  and 
m  return  she  will  grant  their  desired  favours. 

With  this  brief  consideration  of  the  great  goddess  of 
Umduism  at  her  chief  shrine  in  Calcutta  we  return  to 
lienares  to  consider  her  husband  Siva,  the  Maha-deva 
or  great  god  who  holds  the  supreme  place  in  this  holy 
city  of  Hinduism.    This  position  he  enjoys,  not  to  the 
exc  usion  of  the  many  other  favourite  divinities  and 
godimgs,  for  every  pilgrim  has  the  right  to  cling  to  his 
own  peculiar  cult  and  worship  the  local  god  of  his  an- 
cestral village  without  any  interference  so  long  as  he 
stnctly  conforms  to  the  rules  of  caste.    To  Siva  have 
been  dedicated  many  magnificent  temples  in  South 
India,  but  he  is  seldom  represented  in  any  of  them  by 
any  image  of  himself,  and  his  only  symbol  in  Benares 


*  m 
I  m 


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128  The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

is  that  of  the  linga,  generally  in  the  form  of  a  plain 
conical  stone.  This  symbol  is  most  sacred  in  the  eyes 
of  the  pilgrims  and  attracts  the  multitudes  who  stop  to 
pour  over  it  the  water  which  they  have  brought  in 
their  bowl  from  the  Ganges,  and  some  bestow  their 
offerings  of  grain,  rice,  ghee,  flowers  or  money,  all  of 
which  are  i-eceived  and  properly  cared  for  by  the  at- 
tending priests. 

Whilst  phallic  worship  has  long  existed  in  India  it  is 
generally  without  any  impure  or  immoral  character, 
and  the  object  is  often  a  roughly  shaped  stone,  but  a 
conspicuous  object  from  being  stained  or  painted  in  the 
vermilion,  or  covered  with  leaves  of  the  bilva  tree  and 
kept  wet  from  the  profusion  of  water  poured  upon  it 
by  the  followers  of  Siva,  who  in  that  symbol  recognize 
their  god.  Near  the  Well  of  Knowledge  is  the  large 
image  of  the  Nandi  bull,  Siva's  sacred  beast,  and  which 
is  connected  with  the  same  idea  as  the  linga,  and  is  one 
of  the  universal  objects  seen  wherever  Siva  is  wor- 
shipped. The  great  temples  in  Southern  India  are  ded- 
icated to  him,  and  perhaps  the  most  magnificent  is  the 
one  at  Tunjore,  with  the  famous  colossal  Nandi,  carved 
from  black  granite  and  in  a  recumbent  position,  nearly 
thirteen  feet  in  height,  and  a  superb  specimen  of  Indian 
sculpture. 

Within  the  vast  quadrangle  of  this  temple,  on  two 
sides,  are  low  arcades,  in  which  are  ranged  one  hundred 
and  eight  large  linga,  carved  from  black  granite,  one 
for  each  of  the  one  hundred  and  eight  principal  names 
of  Siva,  by  far  the  largest  number  that  we  ever  saw 
grouped  together.  There  is  a  low  wall  extending 
round  the  court  to  prevent  any  intrusion  among  the 
sacred  symbols.    This  conventional  form  is  absolutely 


I;  ^B," 


Benares 


129 


free  from  any  impure  suggestioii,  and  as  the  symbol  of 
their  god  they  adore  it  as  such.  In  most  instances  this 
symbol  is  practically  formless,  and  I  agree  with  Barth 
respecting  its  general  character  when  he  states  that 
"  The  phallic  ideas  and  rites,  and  worship  of  the  phallus 
with  the  Yoni  which  symbolizes  Devi  that  there  is 
nothing  indecent  in  the  form  of  these  figures.  In  ap- 
pearance they  are  pure  symbols,  etc.,  and  of  all  the 
representations  of  the  deity  which  India  has  imagined 
these  are  perhaps  the  least  offensive  to  look  at" 

Whilst  this  is  true  of  the  vast  majority  that  are  only 
symbols,  and  at  times  very  remote  ones,  there  are  some 
shockingly  obscene  exceptions,  and  where  the  symbol- 
ism has  been  transformed  into  the  most  indecent  real- 
ism of  figures  imaginable,  far  surpassing  the  most 
vulgarly  obscene  figures  discovered  in  Pompeii.  These 
striking  examples  of  phallic  worship  I  have  seen  on  the 
temples  and  sacred  cars  in  certain  cities  of  India,  and 
they  should  make  every  Hindu  with  a  moral  seube  of 
refinement  blush  because  these  disgraceful  representa- 
tions are  retained  by  their  religion,  and  in  defiance  of 
every  sense  and  standard  of  decency  in  our  modem 
civilization.  There  can  be  no  justification  for  the  con- 
tinuance of  these  shameful  public  representations  of 
vulgar  sensuality  in  the  name  of  religion,  for  they  must 
exert  a  low  and  demoralizing  influence  upon  the  young 
and  middle  class.  Such  lascivious  exhibitions  cannot 
have  a  moral  tendency  for  good,  but  are  productive  of 
evil  only. 

I  hesitate  to  introduce  this  phase  of  Hiaduism,  but 
I  am  constrained  to  do  so  because  of  the  misconceptions 
and  misrepresentations  pertaining  to  it,  and  which  I 
would  correct    In  this  I  am  guided  whoUy  by  what  I 


■jU'- 


13     The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

have  seen  and  photographed  of  the  iniqaitoos  and  un- 
speakable evil  which  exists  in  many  cities  of  India, 
away  from  the  beaten  tracks  of  tourist  travel 

I  am  aware  that  among  some  noted  scholars  who 
never  visited  India  and  who  are  dependent  upon  others 
for  their  information,  there  are  also  travellers  and  tour- 
ists who  claim  that  they  never  saw  anything  to  offend 
the  most  refined  sensibilities,  for  what  they  had  heard 
and  seen  was  the  conventional  linga,  and  which  is  so 
absolutely  remote  from  any  realism  that  no  one  would 
recognize  its  symbolic  character  unless  he  had  been  told 
of  it.  But  unfortunately  these  writer,  have  obtained 
their  information  and  impressions  from  the  same  gen- 
eral source  and  hence  they  agree  in  their  conclusions. 
The  time  and  extent  of  the  observations  of  the  tourists 
are  limited,  as  they  follow  the  beaten  track  at  the 
rapid  scheduled  rate,  and  there  is  no  opportunity  for 
personal  inquiry  and  research  among  eome  of  the  most 
remarkable  places  off  the  main  line  of  travel. 

In  these  towns  and  cities,  requented  by  foreign- 
ers, there  has  been  but  little  lousecleaning  "  for  the 
sake  of  strangers  and  in  them  you  see  Hinduism  in  its 
bald  and  repellent  forms,  in  the  old  edition,  and  not 
revised  and  improved  by  the  growing  influence  of 
Christianity.  English  rule  has  compelled  them  to  re- 
move the  vulgar  indecencies  referred  to  from  the  centres 
of  travel,  with  the  exception  of  the  out-of-the-way 
Nipalese  temple  in  Benares  that  has  the  grossly  inde- 
cent carvings  around  the  building,  and  which  should  be 
removed. 

Just  because  some  eminent  professors,  who  never 
varied  their  travels  from  the  tourists'  itinerary  that  fol- 
lows the  line  of  least  resistance,  failed  to  see  these 


Benares 


»3» 


things,  we  must  not  oonolade  that  they  do  not  exist. 
As  a  student  in  search  of  knowledge  and  anxious  to  in- 
vestigate the  facts  respecting  controverted  and  contra- 
dictory reports,  I  determined  to  visit  the  cities  and 
temples  in  question,  and  see  things  as  they  are  and  not 
as  writers  have  thought  they  were.  I  did  this  in  the 
interest  of  truth  and  knowledge,  for  Swamis  have  de- 
nied that  these  shameful  representations  exist  on  their 
temples,  and  they  have  spoken  of  them  as  their  holy 
symbols  just  as  we  do  of  the  cross.  This  comparison 
of  the  cross  with  their  lewd  figures  is  as  misleading  as 
it  is  odious  and  the  Swamis  know  it,  but  the  unsuspect- 
ing people  who  have  been  charmed  by  their  sophistry 
should  know  the  actual  facts.  Many  others  have  been 
left  in  doubt  because  of  the  misrepresentations  and 
hence  I  present  this  information.  Such  vulgar  realism 
I  did  not  anticipate,  and  had  a  missionary  reported 
what  I  saw,  most  men  would  have  discredited  him  as 
being  biased,  for  it  is  inconceivable  to  our  civilization 
that  such  a  shocking  monumental  disgrace  to  Hinduism 
should  be  perpetuated  in  the  name  of  religion. 

I  took  photographs  that  I  have  never  shown  to  any 
one,  but  which  I  will  submit  in  evidence  to  a  court  of 
inquiry  shou' '  any  Swami  deny  my  statements.  Such 
pictures  are  ^.ohibited  even  in  India,  for  Section  292 
of  the  Penal  Code  states :  "  Whosoever  sells  or  dis- 
tributes, imports  or  prints  for  sale  or  hire,  or  willfully 
exhibits  to  public  view,  any  obscene  book,  pamphlet 
or  paper,  drawing,  painting  or  representation  or  figure, 
or  attempts  or  offers  so  to  do,  shall  be  punished  with 
imprisonment  of  either  description  for  a  term  which 
may  extend  to  three  months,  or  with  fine,  or  with  both. 
This  section  does  not  extend  to  any  representation 


132  The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

sculptured,  engraved,  painted  or  otherwise  represented 
on,  or  in  any  temple,  or  on  any  car  used  for  the  oon- 
▼eyance  of  idols,  or  kept,  or  used  for  any  religious 
purpose." 

This  foul  blot  upon  modem  Hinduism  and  for  which 
she  alone  is  responsible  should  be  removed,  for  there  is 
nothing  to  justify  its  demoralizing  continuance.  I 
would  refer  the  reader  to  the  notorious  temple  garden 
house  at  Puri,  within  a  walled  enclosure,  and  where  the 
Juggernaut  car  is  brought  with  its  deities  for  a  rest 
after  the  tedious  procession.  The  obscene  figures  are 
too  shocking  even  for  the  temporary  abode  of  these 
gods,  but  we  can  imagine  their  degrading  influence 
upon  the  promiscuous  crowds  that  gather  there.  There 
can  be  no  moral  and  spiritual  uplift  among  the  pil- 
grims who  gaze  upon  such  lascivious  figures,  but  moral 
defilement  only. 

We  saw  the  worst  possible  scenes  that  a  vile  imagi- 
nation could  design  in  the  relief  figures  on  the  gopura 
of  the  temple  in  the  centre  of  Cocanada.  They  were 
too  shameful  for  a  foreigner  to  photograph,  and  yet 
there  they  have  been  exposed  in  all  their  shocking 
lewdness  to  the  public  gaze  to  corrupt  men,  women 
and  children.  In  the  suburbs  of  the  same  city  there  is 
another  temple  so  holy  that  no  American  or  European 
is  allowed  to  approach  within  fifty  feet,  and  only  a 
respectable  caste  Hindu  is  accounted  ceremonially  pure 
enough  to  enter  its  sacred  precincts,  but  no  amount  of 
its  extreme  sanctity  can  purify  the  abominably  vulgar 
indecencies  of  the  figures  that  surround  the  gopura  of 
the  temple,  and  the  common  herd  of  humanity  could 
approach  no  farther  than  this  portal  with  its  filthy 
abominations.    I  said  to  the  priest  that  in  the  name  of 


*■ 


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■vn 

■  -'  i 


I    I  s'  I       i     .  i 


Benares 


>33 


morality  and  oommon  public  decency  he  should  remove 
these  vile  erotic  exposures,  but  he  amazed  me  with  his 
indifference  and  replied  that  if  they  were  removed  that 
huge  tower  would  fall  in  ruins.  Although  he  spoke 
English  it  lacked  common  sense. 

Conjeverim  ia  one  of  the  sacred  places  in  India,  the 
Benares  of  the  South,  and  in  front  of  the  great  temple 
of  Siva  there  towers  a  gopura  nearly  two  hundred  feet 
in  height.  Less  than  two  miles  away  is  Little  Con- 
jeverim, with  a  magnificent  temple,  and  near  by  was  a 
handsomely  sculptured  pavilion  of  modern  construc- 
tion. It  had  some  remarkable  carvings  of  the  deities 
but  one  reached  the  extreme  limit  of  the  obscene  in 
realism,  and  debasing  influence  upon  the  young  who 
stood  about  was  plainly  evident  in  their  sinister  looks. 
One  day  after  visiting  some  rock  hewn  temples,  we 
went  to  Mangalgeri,  where  we  were  astonished  to  find 
the  most  indecent  figures  imaginable  in  the  wood 
carvings  around  the  base  of  a  modem  car  that  stood 
in  front  of  the  temple,  but  from  which  all  but  the  elect 
were  excluded,  and  hence  we  confined  our  observations 
to  a  study  of  the  car ;  and  if  such  things  were  tolerated 
in  public,  we  can  hardly  discredit  some  of  the  things 
said  to  transpire  within  the  temple  itself,  but  which  are 
too  unsavoury  for  even  a  reference. 

An  apologist  for  the  sins  of  Hinduism  states  in  terms 
that  may  be  intelligible  to  him  in  his  Western  study : 
"Indian  art  is  essentially  religious  and  aims  at  the 
imitation  of  Divinity,"  and  "  it  expresses  in  concrete 
imagery  ideas  that  belong  to  the  transcendental  and 
mystic  aspects  of  religion,"  and  that  "  nature  Is  a  veil 
and  not  a  revelation,"  and  that  "  religion  for  India  is 
much  more  a  metaphysic  than  a  dogma."    Such  mental 


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ij' 


Vr 


134  The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

gymnastios  in  the  jaggleiy  of  words  do  not  change  the 
indecent  character  of  the  realistic  figures,  and  which 
the  government  recognizes  to  xuch  a  degree  that  they 
are  only  tolerated  for  religious  purposes  at  the  temples, 
and  to  expose  photographs  of  them  is  a  penal  offense. 
The  subjects  are  so  immoral  that  the  government  will 
not  permit  photographs  to  be  sent  through  the  mails. 

In  our  age  and  civilization,  culture  and  refinement 
have  fixed  certain  inherent  ethical  standards  that  are 
inviolable,  and  the  moral  consciousness  will  not  tolerate 
evils  that  were  permitted  among  primitive  races.  The 
privacy  of  the  nursery  and  the  home  is  not  exposed  to 
the  public  gaze  of  the  street,  for  things  permissible  and 
necessary  in  the  home  would  shock  our  sense  of  pro- 
priety if  made  public,  and  our  common  laws  of  decencv 
forbid  it. 

The  academic  writer,  who  draws  upon  his  imagina- 
tion for  his  data  and  evolves  his  idealized  theory  from 
his  inner  consciousness,  informs  us  that  all  this  sex- 
symbolism  is  only  a  veil,  and  that  the  Western  mind  is 
too  tnaterialistic  to  grasp  and  interpret  the  idealism  of 
divinity  expressed  in  this  profound  psychological  mys- 
tery. Unfortunately  for  their  ethereal  speculations 
they  have  not  seen  with  their  eyes  and  hence  they 
have  gone  wide  of  the  mark,  for  it  is  not  the  idealism, 
but  the  vulgar  indecencies  of  the  unmentionable  real- 
ism that  we  condemn.  These  may  be  seen  on  their 
temples  and  sacred  cars  in  their  real  stark  and  obscene 
nakedness,  and  without  any  mask,  or  even  so  much  as 
a  modest  veil 


HnmUIBM  IN  IimiA 


IT  is  Hinduism  as  it  has  been  taught,  believed  and 
lived  in  India  for  many  centuries  that  I  wish  to 
discuss,  and  not  as  it  has  been  presented  at  times 
in  a  highly  idealized  form  in  our  country  by  special 
advocates  of  certain  phases  of  this  multifarious  re- 
ligion. With  Christian  thought  and  phrases  read  into 
it  many  are  attracted  by  the  beauty  and  spiritual  char- 
acter, but  in  this  form  it  has  become  so  Christianized 
that  the  original  teachings  are  scarcely  recognizable. 
This  is  especially  true  of  many  of  the  Vedantists,  and 
who  frequently  employ  the  form  and  seemingly  the 
content  of  the  Christian  religion,  but  it  is  due  to  the 
infiltrations  or  appropriations  from  Christianity  that 
the  Swamis  are  able  to  charm  their  hearers. 

It  is  impossible  to  define  Hinduism  owing  to  the  be- 
wildering diversity  of  beliefs  and  practices  among  the 
multiplicity  of  sects,  for  they  are  frequently  contradict- 
ory as  well  as  irrecoacilable.  The  Hindu  mind  pos- 
sesses a  wonderful  elastic  faculty  for  religious  adapta- 
tion, as  well  as  a  marvellous  capacity  for  assimilating 
the  most  astounding  differences.  Hinduism  is  pre- 
eminently the  religion  of  India,  for  there  are  more  than 
two  hundred  millions  of  Hindus,  and  more  than  two- 
thirds  of  the  entire  population.  With  all  their  differ- 
ence of  race,  language,  belief  and  social  standing,  there 
are  certain  marked  characteristics  of  faith  and  practice 

*35 


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fi- 
ll f'i 


136   The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

that  maj  be  regarded  as  essentials.  In  brief,  they  may 
be  said  to  recognize  the  Brahmanioal  sapremaoy  and  the 
rigid  obserranoe  of  the  laws  respecting  caste,  and  they 
also  believe  in  Karma  and  the  transmigration  of  souls, 
and  pay  a  proper  worship  to  their  respective  gods. 
Their  household  god  is  worshipped  daily  by  libations  of 
water  and  floral  offerings,  but  there  is  no  weekly  wor- 
ship in  the  temples  corresponding  with  that  which  is 
observed  in  the  Christian  churches,  but  only  an  occa- 
sional religious  observance  at  the  temples  during  the 
great  festivals,  when  offerings  are  made  to  the  idols 
and  alms  bestowed  on  priests  and  mendicants. 

Whilst  they  have  many  gods,  and  abound  in  supersti- 
tion, it  is  the  opinion  of  many  scholars  who  have  spent 
years  among  them  that  the  great  majority  of  the 
Hindus  have  a  firm  belief  in  One  Supreme  God,  and 
that  this  faith  "  involved  a  clear  idea  of  a  single  per- 
sonal God,  and  is  not  limited  to  the  more  intelligent, 
but  is  also  distinctly  characteristic  of  Hindus  as  a 
whole. 

This  does  not  prevent  their  belief  in  other  divinities ; 
the  Devata  or  godlings  as  distinguished  from  the  Deva 
or  Gods,  and  in  the  minds  of  the  people  who  believe  in 
them  there  is  no  more  conflict  than  there  is  between  an 
ofllcial  and  his  orderlies.  They  hold  that  their  Supreme 
God  is  "  responsible  for  the  existence  of  everybody  and 
everything,  but  is  too  exalted  to  be  troubled  about 
ordinary,  everyday  affairs,"  and  which  are  committed 
to  the  countless  tutelar  gods  or  godlings.  "  The  code 
of  morality  of  the  ordinary  Hindu  is  much  the  same  as 
that  of  most  civilized  nations,  although  almost  any 
moral  law  may  be  broken  to  save  the  life  of  either  a 
Brahman  or  a  cow  "  (Bums  in  "  Census  Report "). 


HtnduUm  in  India 


137 


TIm  Mots  '  1^^  heir  gods  are  legion,  owing  to  ndal 
differenoei,  anu  ;..ere  are  abundant  traces  of  aoimistio 
usages  in  Hinduism.  These  are  the  survivals  of  the  in- 
filtrations from  the  Dra vidian  races  as  well  as  from  the 
Vedio  Aryans.  In  the  gradual  development  from  the 
confused  spirit  of  animism  to  anthropomorphic  gods 
there  was  a  great  advance,  even  though  their  functions 
may  not  always  have  been  clearly  defined,  and  their 
ethical  character  at  times  may  have  been  questionable. 
In  some  cases  the  gods  were  personified  alMtraotions  of 
certain  well  recognized  virtues  that  later  became 
embodied  in  the  person  of  gods  and  goddesses,  just  as 
we  have  many  monumental  or  objective  examples  of  the 
divine  beings  upon  the  ancient  coinage  of  Greece  and 
Rome.  As  spirits  were  supposed  to  make  the  grain 
grow  these  "  vaguely  envisaged  spirits"  became  gods  of 
the  com  or  other  grains,  and  as  such  are  frequently  rep- 
resented upon  the  medallic  monuments. 

Many  of  the  religious  cults  in  India  had  their  counter- 
part in  ancient  Greece  where  the  people  worshipped  un- 
hewn stones  and  anointed  them  with  oil  for  the  sake  of 
the  spirit  or  numen  that  was  supposed  to  be  resident  in 
it.  In  India  such  stones  exist  everywhere,  whether 
hewn  or  in  formless  state  and  they  are  generally  con- 
spicuous by  being  covered  with  the  sacred  vermilion, 
and  the  tuM  plant ;  and  the  pilgrim  performs  his  act 
of  devotion  by  pouring  over  it  a  bowl  of  water,  and  if 
it  has  been  obtained  from  the  Ganges  the  merit  is 
greatly  increased. 

Ancestor  worship  has  played  an  important  part  in  the 
religious  history  of  India,  for  the  extensive  pantheon 
has  been  largely  recruited  from  the  common  ranks  of 
human  beings,  and  some  of  them  displayed  propensities 


I 


1 


I  I 

i  tl 


138   The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 


■A 


that  were  inhuman,  though  invested  with  superhuman 
powers.  It  was  a  comparatively  easy  process  to  trans- 
form heroic  men  into  gods  and  elevate  them  to  seats 
among  the  mighty  in  those  primitive  times  of  supersti- 
tion when  the  people  lacked  scientific  knowledge,  and 
that  historical  and  critical  faculty  for  investigating 
facts,  but  possessed  a  remarkable  capacity  for  assimila- 
ting whatever  seemed  marvellous. 

Even  to-day  demonphobia  characterizes  the  mental 
state  and  feelings  of  a  large  proportion  of  the  people  of 
India,  especially  of  the  southern  portion  of  the  country, 
who  believe  that  they  are  surrounded  by  malignant 
spirits  who  afflict  them  with  all  the  misfortunes  of  life. 
Though  invisible,  they  are  no  less  real  and  aggressive 
in  their  diabolical  methods  to  bring  disease,  especially 
fevers,  cholera,  smallpox,  and  the  common  bodily  Ac- 
tions to  which  they  are  heir ;  and  these  demons  destroy 
the  cattle  and  crops,  and  thwart  their  daily  efforts. 
Hence  they  implore  the  aid  and  worship  the  local 
guardian  deities  of  the  particular  village,  for  whilst  the 
demons  have  superhuman  power,  the  gods  are  endowed 
with  superior  might  and  are  more  than  a  match  for  the 
malicious  spirits  that  dwell  in  lonely  places,  in  trees  and 
by  the  riverside.  Inasmuch  as  these  demons  cause  all 
the  manifold  ills  of  life  they  are  of  far  greater  concern 
to  the  people  than  the  gods,  and  they  must  be  propitiated 
or  placated  by  sacrifices  to  buy  them  off  so  as  to  escape 
the  dreaded  calamities  that  they  would  otherwise  inflict 
upon  them. 

I  am  aware  that  these  statements  are  not  in  harmony 
with  the  glowing  accounts  of  the  Swamis  from  India 
who  tell  of  an  idealized  Hinduism  and  such  a  reb'gious 
consununation  as  they  may  greatly  desire  for  their  peo- 


Hinduism  in  India 


»39 


pie,  but  which  unfortunately  does  not  exist  in  their 
country,  and  we  must  speak  of  the  Hinduism  that  has 
been  taught  and  practiced  in  India  for  many  centuries 
and  as  it  prevails  to-day.  The  idealized  and  transcen- 
dental religion  that  some  of  the  representatives  of  the 
recent  cults  have  brought  to  the  attention  of  those  who 
have  become  interested  in  theosophy  and  the  Yedantic 
philosophy  would  not  be  recognized  in  India  among 
the  rank  and  file  of  the  priests  and  the  tens  of  mil- 
lions of  the  Hindus.  In  confirmation  of  this  I  would 
quote  from  that  authoritative  work,  the  "Census  of 
India." 

The  writer,  after  describing  the  varied  beliefs  that 
belong  to  Hinduism,  adds:  "Between  these  extremes 
of  practical  magic  at  the  one  end  and  transcendental 
metaphysics  at  the  other,  there  is  room  for  every  form 
of  belief  and  practice  that  is  possible  for  the  human 
imagination  to  conceive.  Worship  of  elements,  of 
natural  features  and  forces,  of  deified  men,  ascetics, 
animals,  of  powers  of  life,  organs  of  sex,  weapons, 
primitive  implements,  modem  machinery ;  sects  which 
enjoin  the  sternest  forms  of  asceticism;  sects  which 
revel  in  promiscuous  debauchery ;  sects  which  devote 
themselves  to  hypnotic  meditation ;  sects  which  prac- 
tice the  most  revolting  form  of  cannibalism — all  of 
these  are  included  in  Hinduism  and  each  finds  some 
order  of  intellect  or  sentiment  to  which  it  appeals. 
And  through  all  this  bewildering  variety  of  creeds 
there  is  traceable  the  influence  of  a  pervading  pessi- 
mism, of  the  conviction  that  life,  and  more  especially 
the  prospect  of  a  series  of  lives,  is  the  heaviest  of  all 
burdens  that  can  be  laid  upon  man.  The  one  ideal  is 
to  obtain  release  from  the  ever-turning  wheel  of  con- 


i 


jj  ^j , :.  'V 


140   The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

acious  existence  and  sink  individuality  in  the  impersonal 
spirit  of  the  world." ' 

We  frequently  saw  evidences  of  the  prevailing  influ- 
ence of  magic  among  the  people  of  In(Ua,  especially  in 
the  douthem  portion.  Some  of  the  extravagant  public 
exhibitions  were  very  startling  and  no  doubt  the  specta- 
tors were  wrought  up  to  such  a  mental  state  of  expect- 
ancy that  they  were  easily  deceived  by  appearances, 
just  as  the  devoted  believer  who  goes  to  the  famous 
cathedral  in  Naples  to  see  that  professed  marvel  of  the 
liquefaction  of  the  blood  of  St.  Januarius  never  in- 
quires whether  deception  has  been  practiced,  for  such 
unbelief  would  be  a  sin. 

In  like  manner  the  unsophisticated  Hindus  do  strange 
things  in  their  credulity  that  look  like  child's  play  to 
us,  and  on  elevated  places  and  upon  the  top  of  build- 
ings they  station  formidable-looking  warriors,  mounted 
on  their  spirited  steeds,  made  of  various  material,  and 
who  are  supposed  to  aid  mightily  m  riding  down  all 
visible  and  invisible  enemies,  and  to  guard  the  family 
against  the  malignant  spirits  of  earth  and  air.  All 
that  is  necessary  for  the  magician  is  to  have  an  effigy 
of  the  enemy,  however  rude  or  incomplete,  and  to  pierce 
it  with  a  real  or  imaginary  dagger,  or  to  destroy  that 
doublet  and  the  dreaded  enemy  will  perish. 

Whilst  we  condemn  magic  as  irreligious  and  irra- 
tional, it  still  exerts  a  remarkable  influence  over  the 
minds  of  millions  of  the  ignorant  and  superstitious 
people.  Certain  psychological  phenomena  may  still 
remain  unaccoynted  for,  but  magnetism,  hypi:otism, 
telepathy  or  the  law  of  suggestion  may  account  for 
some  of  the  unexplained  mysteries  of  the  skilled  en- 

'Page380. 


Hinduism  in  India 


141 


ohanter's  wand.  It  may  well  seem  strange  to  ns  that 
any  people  at  this  late  day  should  be  found  so  lacking 
in  the  rudiments  of  ordinary  intelligence  as  to  believe 
in  the  absurdities  involved  in  magic  as  practiced  in 
India,  but  it  cannot  be  compared  with  the  most  ex- 
travagant magical  rites  of  ancient  Egypt,  for  the  potent 
spell  which  they  exertod  challenges  the  powers  of  the 
gods. 

"We  can  appreciate  the  marvels  wrought  by  the 
magicians  of  the  Pharaoh  in  the  days  of  Moses  when 
they  duplicated  the  wonders  that  he  performed  through 
the  command  of  the  Lord.  "No  wonder,  for  even  some 
of  the  gods  of  Egypt  were  numbered  among  the  famous 
magicians,  and  they  exerted  tremendous  power  over 
the  destinies  of  men, — even  life  and  death  were  subject 
to  them,  and  all  nature  yielded  to  their  behests.  They 
have  left  a  record  of  their  startling  powers  and  from 
their  ancient  books  we  learn  of  their  astounding  claims 
to  have  power  to  divide  the  water  of  a  river,  to  cut  oflf 
the  head  of  a  man  and  put  it  on  again  without  harm. 

Such  wonderful  results  of  their  enchantments  were 
wholly  dependent  upon  knowing  and  using  aright  the 
potential  formula.  One  of  these  from  the  book  of  the 
god  Thot  shows  the  supernatural  powers  that  were 
exerted  by  reciting  the  formula,  and  which  rivalled  the 
startling  wonders  credited  to  the  magicians  of  Pharaoh : 
"If  thou  recitest  the  first  of  these  formulae,  thou  wilt 
charm  heaven,  earth,  night,  mountains,  water;  thou 
wilt  understand  what  the  birds  and  reptiles  say,  thou 
wilt  see  the  fishes  of  the  abyss,  for  a  divine  power  will 
bring  them  to  the  surface  of  the  water  "  (as  St.  Anthony 
did  by  preaching  to  them).  "  If  thou  recitest  the  second 
formula,  though  thou  be  in  thy  grave,  thou  shalt  assume 


142   The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

anew  the  fonn  thou  hadst  on  earth."  It  is  hardly  neoet- 
sary  to  add  that  those  who  practice  magic  in  India  have 
no  such  clearly  defined  sj^stem  of  f  ormulse,  nor  have  they 
been  so  successful  in  producing  startling  results. 

Whilst  the  pantheon  of  Hindoism  includes  more  than 
three  hundred  millions  of  greater  and  lesser  divinities, 
many  of  the  more  intelligent  Hindus  would  explain 
these  innumerable  so-called  deities  as  being  so  many 
different  manifestations  of  the  One  Supreme  Being, 
and  this  is  the  growing  tendency  not  only  among 
the  learned  class  but  even  the  less  cultured  ones  are 
imbibing  this  thought,  though  with  confused  ideas. 
Honier  Williams  described  the  indefinable  and  amor- 
phous state  of  Hinduism  as  bristling  with  **  contra- 
dictions, inconsistencies  and  surprises." 

However,  we  must  endeavour  to  put  ourselves  in 
their  place,  for  frequently  as  much  depends  upon  the 
point  of  view  as  the  character  of  the  thing  itself  that 
we  are  looking  at ;  whether  we  view  a  landscape  from 
a  plain  or  from  some  lofty  elevation,  whether  we  see 
the  monntaln  from  the  base  or  from  the  slope  or  sum- 
mit, the  man  as  a  warrior  on  the  battle-field  or  as  a 
father  in  his  home.  Hence  we  must  endeavour,  as  far 
as  possible,  to  get  the  point  of  view  of  the  Hindu  wor- 
shipper, and  his  conception  of  the  image  before  him 
and  the  invisible  being  he  is  worshipping,  for  that  ma- 
terial image  is  not  his  god,  nor  the  one  that  he  sees  in 
his  mind,  but  at  most  only  the  idol  in  which  the  di- 
vinity is  envisaged  and  may  dwell  for  the  time.  In 
itself  it  is  merely  a  symbol  that  aids  the  illiterate  one 
in  concentrating  his  confused  thought  and  making  his 
deity  more  real  and  vivid  to  his  mind,  for  that  invisible 
being  is  always  personal  and  not  inanimate,  however 


% 


Hinduism  in  India 


143 


imperfect  and  befogged  his  religious  conceptions  may 
be :  just  aa  when  the  most  ignorant  Christian  peon  in 
Mexico  bows  and  prays  before  the  images,  for  they  are 
not  his  gods ;  and  the  cross  is  only  the  symbol  of  Christ, 
and  through  it  he  sees  though  dimly  the  personaliza- 
tion of  his  divine  Saviour. 

The  countless  idols  among  the  Hindus  are  regarded 
as  idols  and  not  as  gods,  for  they  know  that  the  image 
of  stone  or  wood  or  mud  fashioned  by  hand  is  not  a 
divinity ;  and  yet,  after  a  priest  has  consecrated  that 
image  by  a  special  ceremonial,  the  spirit  of  the  divinity 
is  supposed  to  become  inherent  or  resident  in  that 
image,  and  hence  the  priest  in  presenting  the  offerings 
of  the  family  to  their  particular  god  treats  the  image 
in  a  sense  as  though  it  were  really  a  living  thing; 
but  it  is  owing  to  the  indwelling  divine  essence  with 
which  the  consecration  invested  it,  and  with  the  ignorant 
class  it  becomes  a  fetish.  However  we  may  hold  that 
the  most  degraded  and  illiterate  idolater  who  reverently 
bows  before  the  rude  image  of  clay  is  convinced  that 
the  gross  material  form  is  not  a  divinity  but  only  the 
symbol  or  at  most  the  embodiment  of  the  god  that 
dwells  in  it  at  the  time,  for  after  the  prayer  of  the 
worshipper  it  may  be  thrown  into  the  river. 

Images  in  the  Christian  Church  have  been  held  most 
sacred  and  worshippers  have  bowed  before  them  and 
repeated  prayers,  and  I  cannot  think  that  the  most 
ignorant  of  mankind  ever  worshipped  stone  or  image 
as  such,  but  that  fetish  as  the  medium  of  superhuman 
power.  As  Lyall  states :  "  Queer  idols  and  grotesque 
are  to  be  seen  everywhere  in  India,"  but  the  worshipper 
may  have  some  "profound  meaning  underlying  the 
irrational  and  superiScial  observance." 


144  T^c  G^  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

Famell  in  his  disoossion  of  the  religion  of  Greece 
shows  the  importance  of  getting  the  correct  point  of 
view  in  oar  interpretation  of  the  belief  of  others,  for 
similar  terms  may  have  conveyed  a  very  different  mean- 
ing to  them.  *'  The  word  worship  is  used  very  loosely 
by  the  ancients  as  well  as  by  certain  ootemporary  writ- 
ers, and  by  its  value  and  indiscriminate  employment  an 
effort  is  made  to  convince  us  that  the  pre-HeUenic  and 
proto-Hellenic  world  worshipped  the  lion,  the  ox,  the 
horse,  the  ass,  the  stag,  the  wolf,  the  pig,  the  bird, 
especially  the  dove,  the  eagle,  and  lastly  even  the  cock. 
We  should  have  to  deal  with  a  savage  religion  rioting 
in  theriolatry,"  and  such  was  not  the  cultured  Hellenic 
race.  We  must  not  confound  merely  outward  appear- 
ances and  ceremonies  with  their  real  motiveb  and  re- 
ligious convictions  in  offering  the  sacrifices,  for  they 
knew  that  those  animals  were  not  actually  their  gods ; 
and  they  did  not  pray  to  them  and  worship  them  as  we 
worship  the  One  Supreme  Being. 

Rammohan  Roy,  the  distinguished  Hindu  reformer, 
returning  to  Ben^  in  1820,  wrote  that  "  Debased  and 
despicable  as  is  the  belief  of  the  Hindus  with  three 
hundred  and  thirty  millions  of  gods,  the  learned  pre- 
tend to  reconcile  this  persuasion  with  the  doctrine  of 
the  Unity  of  God,  alleging  that  the  three  hundred  and 
thirty  millions  of  gods  are  subordinate  agents  assuming 
various  offices  and  preserving  the  harmony  of  the 
universe  under  one  Ghodhead  as  innumerable  rays  issue 
from  one  sun." 

To-day  many  eminent  scholars  and  missionaries  are 
convinced  that  in  spite  of  all  the  gross  superstition, 
polytheism  and  pantheism  that  pervades  Hinduism 
there  is  among  the  people  a  more  general  recognition 


Hinduism  in  India 


»45 


of  a  Sapreme  Being  than  was  onoe  sapposed.  The 
many  load  divinities  may  be  but  subordinate  messengers 
to  whom  minor  duties  have  been  delegated  by  the 
Supreme  One^  somewhat  as  has  been  conceived  of 
angels,  although  there  may  be  much  confusion  of  ideas 
in  the  mind  of  the  illiterate. 

Grierson  claims  to  find  traces  of  monotheism  in  the 
Vedas  but  which  was  later  supplanted  by  a  form  of 
pantheism,  and  he  contends  that  Bhagavatism  is  the 
religion  of  the  masses  of  India,  with  belief  in  One  Ood, 
and  to  the  Hindu  mind  there  is  no  inconsistency  in 
believing  also  in  polytheism  which  affords  a  sphere  for 
the  subordinate  gods  or  godlings  in  the  performance  of 
their  special  duties,  and  as  messengers  of  the  One 
Supreme  Being,  who  cannot  be  personally  concerned 
for  the  daily  needs  of  all  the  material  world.  No  doubt 
there  is  much  vagueness  in  the  minds  of  many  as  to 
the  exact  functions  of  the  subordinate  divinities,  and 
yet  they  need  not  trouble  themselves  about  defining 
and  attempting  to  explain  the  obscuro,  no  more  than 
most  people  are  disturbed  as  to  the  particular  fun  tion 
of  the  angels. 

Hinduism  was  bom  in  a  country  of  diverse  peoples 
and  cults,  and  it  sought  to  accommodate  itself  to  the 
different  beliefs  by  assimilating  from  all  the  creeds, 
even  from  the  aboriginal  as  well  as  from  the  cotempo- 
rary  and  hence  the  amorphous  and  anomalous  system  of 
this  heterogeneous  system  of  religion,  with  its  many 
absurd  practices.  As  Monier  Williams  states:  "It 
has  not  scrupled  to  encourage  the  adoration  of  the  fish, 
the  boar,  the  serpent,  trees,  plants,  stones  and  devils : 
it  has  permitted  a  descent  to  the  most  degrading  cults 
of  the  Dravidian  races,  while  at  the  same  time  it  has 


n 


146  The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 


?f! 


ventured  to  rise  from  the  most  grovelling  practices  to 
the  loftiest  heights  of  philosophical  speculation ;  it  has 
not  hesitated  to  drink  in  thoughts  from  the  very  foun- 
tain of  Truth,  and  it  owes  not  a  little  to  Christianity 
itself.  Strangest  of  all,  it  has  dissipated  the  formidable 
organization  which  for  a  long  period  confronted  Brah- 
manism,  and  introduced  doctrines  subversive  of  sacer- 
dotalism. It  has  artfully  appropriated  Buddhism,  and 
gradually  superseded  that  competing  system  by  draw- 
ing its  adherents  within  the  pale  of  its  own  communion." 

Whilst  few  temples  exist  to  the  worship  of  the  sun 
god  he  still  continues  to  be  the  object  of  universal 
adoration,  for  every  Hindu,  high  or  low,  and  to  what- 
ever sect  he  may  belong,  on  the  return  of  every  morn- 
ing pays  reverential  homage  to  the  rising  sun,  as  he 
turns  about  facing  the  East  and  then  gazing  upon  the 
blazing  orb  repeats  from  the  "  Rig  Veda  "  the  Gayatri 
prayer :  "  Let  us  meditate  on  the  excellent  glory  of  the 
divine  Vivifying  Sun."  They  see  things  in  the  sun, 
moon  and  stars,  animals  and  plants  that  we  do  not  see, 
and  I  am  persuaded  that  their  religious  perception  is 
often  very  much  out  of  focus.  I  have  heard  of  people 
in  America  who  could  see  a  man  in  the  moon,  but  in 
India  they  behold  gods  in  the  moon  and  cherish  it 
with  reverent  devotion ;  but  the  sun  is  supreme,  and 
they  gaze  upon  it  until  blinded  by  its  blazing  splendour. 

Unfortunately  as  the  people  interpret  Hinduism  they 
do  not  have  their  eyes  directed  towards  the  future  but 
they  turn  about  and  face  the  past  when  seeking  to 
solve  present  day  problems,  for  they  must  consult  the 
customs  that  prevailed  in  remote  generations.  That 
finding  is  finality,  the  supreme  tribunal  of  their  relig- 
ion, and  from  which  no  appeal  can  be  taken.    The 


Hinduism  in  India 


»47 


priest  and  people  may  freely  admit  that  it  is  neither 
just  nor  reasonable,  nor  for  the  highest  welfare  of  all 
concerned,  but  they  deeply  regret  that  they  cannot 
do  otherwise  for  it  is  according  to  custom.  This  is 
the  common  excuse  that  one  hears  when  they  apolo- 
gize for  some  most  absurd  customs  of  to-day. 

They  often  reminded   me  of  the  old  Scotch  lady 
who  said  that  whenever  she  took  the  train  she  always 
rode  with  her  back  facing  the  engine,  for  the  Hindus 
of  to-day  as  well  as  for  many  centuries  seem  to  have 
been  going  into  the  future  backwards.    They  always 
faced  the   past,   and  strictly  conformed  to  the  ways 
of  their  remote  ancestors  for  no  god  nor  religious  be- 
lief exercises  greater  power  over  their  minds  and  lives 
than  custom.    They  suflfer  many  evils,   misery  and 
wrongs  by  conforming  to  primitive  and  unjust  laws 
promulgated  several  thousand  years  ago  when  condi- 
tions were  different.    Thehr  religious  requirements  and 
customs  stand  in  the  way  of  progress  and  modem  civili- 
zation, and  impose  upon  them  their  many  unnecessary 
grievous  burdens.    Their  patient  endurance  challenges 
our  sympathy  and  admiration,  but  their  apathetic  state 
of  indifference  to  their  self-imposed  burdens,  and  their 
persistence  in  continuing  to  bear  them,  excite  our  com- 
miseration, for  it  is  next  to  impossible  to  modernize 
them,  and  many  generations  will  come  and  go  before 
the  dream  of  some  enthusiasts  will  be  realized.    Kip- 
ling's familiar  lines  suggest  the  situation : 

"  It  is  not  good  for  the  Christian  race 
To  worry  the  Aryan  brown ; 
For  the  white  man  riles, 
And  the  brown  man  smiles. 
And  it  weareth  the  Christian  down, 


' ,  \ 


frt  .i        J 


148  The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

And  the  end  o^  ilM  light 

Ib  m  tombatone  white 

With  the  name  of  the  late  deceaaed, 

And  the  epitaph  dear  :— 

A  fool  lies  here, 

Who  tried  to  hnstle  the  East" 


i'  'ft 

J  I'l' 


niiteraoy  and  bondage  to  costom,  in  connection  with 
the  universal  dominion  of  caste,  constitute  a  well-nigh 
irresistible  barrier  to  hnman  progress  and  modem  civili- 
zation. 

It  seems  phenomenal  how  Hindaism  has  flonhiijed 
for  so  many  centories,  and  continues  its  sway  in  spite 
of  the  lack  of  any  organized  and  centralized  authorita- 
tive ecclesiastical  bead.  There  have  been  no  great  and 
ecumenical  councils  to  operate  through  subordinate 
councils,  and  there  have  been  no  popes  nor  patriarchs 
with  unlimited  delegated  powers.  There  has  been  no 
thorough  system  of  organization  that  extended  its 
ramifications  throughout  every  city  and  village  of  In- 
dia, and  which  made  every  priest  amenable  to  his 
superior,  and  he  in  turn  to  the  one  above  him,  until 
the  pope  himself  was  reached.  There  is  no  such  sys- 
tem of  authority  that  controls  Hinduism,  and  yet 
there  are  certain  inherent  and  dominant  elements  that 
prevail  for  the  enforcement  of  certain  essentials  in 
that  religion,  and  which  sways  the  destiny  of  the  two 
hundred  millions  of  Hindus.  The  reason  for  this  re- 
markable sway  has  been  due  to  the  supreme  charac- 
ter of  the  Vedas,  the  Brahmanical  supremacy  and  the 
rigid  adherence  to  the  system  of  caste. 

Their  Sacred  Scriptures  exerdse  a  tremendous  influ- 
ence over  their  lives  and  whilst  the  Vedas,  and  certain 
writings  that  were  once  of  supreme  authority  among 


>   v^.iyj^i^ 


Hinduism  in  India 


>49 


the  people  of  India,  are  now  leldom  referred  to,  there 
are  otben  that  control  the  minds  of  the  oonntlesi  mil- 
lions, the  most  popular  of  which  are  the  Tamous  epics, 
Bamayana,  and  the  Mahabharata,  the  favonrite  por- 
tion of  the  latter  being  the  Bhagavid  Oita.  As  these 
are  widely  circulated  in  English,  Europeans  and 
Americans  are  familiar  with  their  contents,  and  we 
are  ready  to  acknowledge  all  that  is  beautiful  and 
ennobling  in  them,  and  which  have  done  so  much  for 
the  betterment  of  their  followers,  but  many  have  ex- 
aggerated views  of  their  contents. 

There  are  many  pubUo  readers  of  the  Bamayana, 
Mahabharata  and  the  Poranas.  These  may  go  from 
door  to  door  at  times  and  often  they  have  many 
hearers,  hundreds  and  even  thousands,  and  they  may 
read  for  hours  at  a  time.  Wealthy  men  to  secure 
merit  often  send  out  readers  for  the  people,  and  hence 
this  is  another  way  for  receiving  religious  instruction. 
These  books  also  contain  promises  to  those  who  hear 
them.  A  mere  academic  study  of  the  contents  of  these 
religious  books — at  wide  range  in  our  libraiy  at  home- 
may  be  misleading.  We  will  get  very  different  im- 
pressions if  after  having  read  them  we  then  visit  the 
country  itself  where  these  religions  have  held  undis- 
puted sway  for  several  thousand  years  over  the  minds 
and  destinies  of  the  people,  and  borne  their  legitimate 
fruit.  We  must  see  the  Kind  of  men  and  women  that 
they  have  produced,  and  what  they  have  done  for  the 
social,  inteUectnal  and  spiritual  welfare  of  these  teem- 
ing millions  in  far-away  India,  who  believed  and  prac- 
ticed these  teachings. 

To  gain  this  practical  point  of  view  we  must  go  to 
India  and  become  eye-witnesses,  and  test  Hinduism  by 


t 


i 


4' 

m 


\  »^i    '" 


-.-. 


150   The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

its  fruiti,  for  after  all  that  u.  the  infalliblo  tost  by  which 
the  real  and  practical  valuo  of  a  religion  is  to  be  judged. 
It  is  easy  to  magnify  and  idealize  Hinduism,  and  to 
read  into  it  some  of  the  doeiiest  spiritual  truths  of  oar 
own  religion  but  which  wore  utterly  foreign  to  the 
minds  of  the  writers  of  the  Sacred  liookt*  of  the  East 
There  can  be  no  misunderstanding  of  the  fruits,  fur  every 
religion  brings  forth  according  to  its  own  kind,  and  In- 
dia has  had  ample  time  for  abundant  fruitage,  and  the 
practices  and  its  effect  upon  the  people  are  unmista- 
kable. 

It  is  greatly  to  be  regretted  that  Max  MoUer,  the 
eminent  Sanskirt  schoUir,  did  not  visit  India,  for  he 
would  have  discovered  the  difference  between  the  real 
and  the  ideal  from  a  study  of  the  ancient  Yedaa. 
Dr.  Moncure  Conway  was  profoundly  impressed  with 
this  important  fact  when  from  personal  observation  he 
wrote:  "When  I  went  to  the  great  cities  of  India  the 
contrast  between  the  real  and  the  ideal  was  heart- 
breaking. In  all  these  teeming  myriads  of  worshippers, 
not  one  man,  not  even  one  woman,  seemed  to  entertain 
the  shadow  of  a  conception  of  anything  ideal  or 
spiritual  or  religious  in  their  ancient  creed.  To  all  of 
them  the  great  false  god  which  they  worshipped  ap- 
peared to  be  the  presentiment  of  some  terrible  demon  or 
invisible  power,  who  would  treat  them  cruelly  if  they 
did  not  give  him  some  melted  butter.  Of  religion  in  a 
spiritual  sense  there  is  none."  This  is  a  crushing  in- 
dictment and  not  from  a  source  blinded  by  the  merits 
of  Christianity,  but  he  gives  the  irresistible  convictions 
that  were  made  upon  him  from  a  personal  observation. 

Hume,  who  for  years  has  been  regarded  as  one  of  the 
able  missionaries,  declares  that  popular  Hinduism  is 


Hinduism  in  India 


»5» 


I 


doomed.  *'  Iti  features  are  luperstitir^o,  degrading 
oeremooialism,  polytheism,  idolatry,  .  .a  aU  the  un- 
deaoribable  characteristics  of  caste."  *'  The  first  mark 
of  greatness  in  the  higher  Hinduism  is  the  acuteness 
and  consistency  of  its  thought.  Probably  no  religion 
in  the  world  efjuala  Hinduism  in  intellectual  keenness. 
Votioe  that  I  do  not  say  that  Hindu  thought  excels  in 
vurrectnoai,  but  only  that  it  excels  in  keenness  and  in 

In   intellectual 


■::m 


from   assumed    premises. 
vi^;'ur,  If  iii  uium  is  a  great  religion." 

li  111  o  ^oom field  writes  that  "  there  has  been  and 
:..  tJltoo  .,  .L  so-called  religion  in  India :  Brahmanical 
lierr.  Iv,  .>acerdotalism,  asceticism,  caste,  infinitely 
ii.v.;r!>iliod  polytheism  and  idolatry,  cruel  religious 
j)i\iCiiC08  and  bottomless  superstition."  In  thus  sum- 
xriL^,  ap  I  he  religious  character  of  present  day  Hinduism, 
'  .1  rai/rh*  have  added  that  it  has  been  directly  respon- 
sible for  some  of  the  worst  evils  that  have  afflicted  the 
millions  of  its  followers  through  the  many  centuries. 
It  may  rightly  be  charged  \vith  having  originated  and 
fostered  the  system  of  caste  that  has  cursed  and  de- 
graded the  social  condition  oi  the  people,  whilst  it  in- 
troduced and  perpetuated  that  barbaric  and  inhuman 
rite  of  the  suttee  or  burning  alive  of  widows  upon  the 
funeral  pyre  of  their  dead  husbands.  It  is  also  respon- 
sible for  child  marriage  and  the  evils  resulting  from  for- 
bidding widows  to  nuirry.  Hinduism  is  also  responsible 
for  that  unproductive  army  of  human  parasites  that 
constitutes  the  ve  millions  of  religious  mendicants  and 
ascetics,  who  d'    ise  society  by  their  vicious  influence. 

No  one  who  is  familiar  with  the  supreme  influence  of 
woman  in  the  history  of  Christian  civilization  can  fail  to 
recognize  one  of  the  secrets  of  the  weakness  of  Hindu- 


152  The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

ism  and  its  fiulare  to  keep  abreast  of  modem  methods 
in  reform  .id  social  betterment  This  religion  has 
prerented  woman  from  attaining  to  her  foltest  and 
highest  intelleotual  development  as  a  power  for  good  in 
society  and  in  the  state.  How  can  Hinduism  be  great, 
elevating  and  progressive  when  woman  is  debased  and 
restricted  in  her  farreaching  influence?  Hinduism 
has  been  tried  for  several  thousand  years  and  found 
wanting. 

One  of  the  Hindu  lecturers  in  our  country  attempted 
to  perpetrate  a  joke,  and  even  provoked  laughter  among 
the  thoughtless  ones  in  the  audience,  by  informing 
them  that  there  were  no  old  maids  in  India  but  that  a 
husband  was  provided  for  every  young  woman.  There 
would  have  been  no  laughter  had  he  told  them  the 
whole  truth  by  informing  them  that  there  were  twenty- 
six  millions  of  unfortunate  widows  in  India  because 
their  religion  forbade  them  to  remarry,  but  compelled 
them  to  suffer  many  disabilities,  severe  hardships,  and 
which  led  to  the  enforced  ruin  and  shame  of  millions  of 
lives  because  of  this  outrageous  wrong  in  the  name  of 
religion.  They  insist  upon  the  most  punctilious  observ- 
ance of  this  law  that  is  productive  of  so  much  evil  as 
well  as  that  of  caste,  although  they  do  not  always  have 
the  most  rigid  scruples  about  some  moral  shortcomings. 
Should  a  Brahman  many  a  widow  he  is  persecuted  and 
loses  caste,  but  should  he  keep  a  Mohammedan  mistress 
he  suffers  no  religious  censure  nor  social  ostracism. 

Dr.  John  P.  Jones,  who  writes  with  authority,  gives 
the  following  trenchant  challenge  to  the  theosophists  of 
America  who  have  been  won  by  Hindu  thought  as 
presented  in  the  form  of  theosophy:  "What  is 
theosophy,  but  the  stupefying  philosophy  and  the  be- 


Hinduism  in  India 


»53 


numUng  metaphysioB  of  the  East,  dothed  in  its  own 
garb  of  <»iental  mystioism  and  senseless,  spnrioos  oo- 
coltism  ?  It  is  a  sad  reflection  upon  our  Western  life 
that  so  many  people  who  fail  to  find  rest  in  the  divinely 
inspired  teachings  of  Christ  sink  into  the  depths  of  a 
credulity  which  will  accept  the  inanities  of  Mrs. 
Blavitsky.  Let  these  people  go  out  to  India  and  live 
there  for  years  to  see  how  Hindu  thought  and  teach- 
ings have,  for  three  millenniums,  worked  oul  their 
legitimate  results  in  the  life  of  the  teeming  millions  of 
that  land.  Let  them  observe  the  debasing  immorality, 
the  hollow  ceremonialism,  the  all-pervasive  ignorance 
and  superstition  which  rest,  like  a  mighty  jnll,  upon 
that  people  and  which  make  life  mean  and  render  noble 
manhood  impossible.  .  .  .  Whatever  one  may  say 
about  Hindu  thought  and  philosophy  as  a  basis  of  con- 
duct, that  people  have  been  living  for  many  centuries  in 
the  dense  fog  of  ignorance,  superstition  and  ceremonial- 
ism ;  and  their  life  has  been  unworthy  and  debased  be- 
cause it  rested  upon  nothing." 

The  Jains  of  India  are  a  distinct  sect  and  number 
about  one  and  one-third  million.  Their  pantheon  is 
composed  of  a  number  of  worthless  beggar  saints  and 
these  deified  mortals  hold  the  life  even  of  the  lowest 
creatures  so  sacred  that  when  they  go  forth  they  sweep 
before  them  lest  they  should  crush  out  some  living 
thing,  and  they  carry  a  fan  or  wear  a  gauze  screen  over 
the  mouth  lest  a  gnat  should  lose  its  life  by  flying  down 
their  throat.  They  carry  quite  a  settlement  of  vermin 
in  their  filthy  garments,  and  no  matter  how  much  these 
insects  may  trouble  them  they  do  not  dare  to  indulge 
the  luxury  of  scratching  themselves  lest  in  so  doing 
they  should  destroy  the  precious  life  of  these  little 


1 


jin 


Hi 


I 

i 


A    -rJ 


154   The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

creatures.  For  this  reason  the  Jains  cannot  coitivate 
the  gronnd  for  in  so  doing  they  might  crush  a  worm  or 
spider  and  that  would  be  a  grievous  sin.  I  saw  some 
honey  that  they  dared  not  eat,  for  the  minute  red  ants 
had  taken  possession  of  it. 

The  Jains  are  preeminently  the  Pharisees  of  India, 
for  whilst  they  strain  out  the  gnat  they  swallow  far 
greater  evils.  Although  their  country  swarms  with 
human  beings  who  are  starving,  suffering  trom  disease 
and  wronged,  they  have  no  serious  concern  for  them  ; 
they  have  provided  no  hospitals  for  the  aged  and  in- 
firm men  and  vcoc  on,  but  they  have  such  places  for 
animals  and  ^enniu.  They  justify  themselves  by  ap- 
pealing to  the  doctrine  of  metempsychosis,  and  they  in- 
clude all  living  creatures  as  members  of  the  one  great 
family,  whether  they  be  gods,  demons,  men  or  lower 
creatures,  for  the  gradation  is  merely  temporal,  and 
their  ancestors  may  have  made  their  descent  to  the 
grovelling  worm,  and  in  treading  upon  it  they  might 
destroy  their  own  grandmother.  They  are  logical  at 
least,  but  what  deluded  and  worthless  fanatics  they 
ara  They  must  be  continually  annoyed  by  the  foreign 
population  that  fills  their  wardrobe  and  grazes  upon 
their  filthy  bodies.  No  wonder  that  Hopkins  says  of 
them  that  "  of  all  the  sects,  the  Jains  are  the  most 
colourless  and  the  most  insipid.  They  have  no  litera- 
ture worthy  of  the  name.  A  religion  in  which  the 
chief  points  insisted  upon  are  that  one  should  deny 
God,  worship  man,  and  nourish  vermin  has  no  right  to 
exist  nor  has  it  had  as  a  system  much  influence  on  the 
history  of  thought" 


U I 


$fi 


%'■: 


A    Hlil.V    MKMMI Wl' 


VI 
KAItMA  AND  TBANSMIGBATION 

THE  climax  of  the  pesdmistio  philosophy  of 
Hinduism  is  reached  in  the  doctrine  of  Karma 
and  the  transmigration  of  souls.    According 
to  the  teaching  of  Hinduism  all  suffering  is  penal  and 
the  consequence  of  wrong-doing  in  a  previous  exist- 
ence ;  and  the  limit  of  the  possible  series  of  such  rein- 
carnations or  rebirths  has  been  fixed  at  8,400,000  or 
practically  infinity.    Whilst  this  hitter  dogma  may  be 
losing  its  hold  upon  many  of  the  people,  especially 
among  the  educated  ctass,  all  recognize  the  inflexible 
and  relentless  law  of  Karma  from  which  there  is  no  es- 
cape, but  each  one  must  reap  what  he  has  sown,  and 
neither  God  nor  demon  can  interpose  to  prevent  or 
mitigate  the  full  measure  of  the  penalty  imposed  in 
accordance  with  the  deeds  committed  in  the  body,  for 
there  is  no  All-Loving  God— the  heavenly  Father— to 
pity  and  come  to  then*  relief,  and  no  Christ— the 
Saviour — to  save  them. 

All  that  men  now  enjoy  or  suffer  are  the  results  of 
former  deeds  in  a  previous  existence,  and  the  character 
of  those  particular  deeds  is  the  cause  of  our  present 
happiness  or  misery.  The  apparent  inconsistency  for 
the  sufferings  endured  by  the  virtuous  man  is  explained 
by  saying  that  he  is  now  suffering  the  penalty  for  sins 
committed  in  a  former  life,  whilst  the  notoriously 
wicked  man  who  is  enjoying  prosperity  is  merely  re- 


f  "t^ 


156   The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

oaiving  the  reward  for  the  good  done  in  a  previooi  life 
and  which  was  oarefolly  credited  to  his  aoconat ;  tor 
in  ibis  infallible  system  of  bookkeeping  all  credits  and 
debits  are  correctly  given,  and  no  erasores  nor  fraudu- 
lent entries  can  be  made,  but  each  one  receives  his  full 
portion  in  due  season,  and  with  unmistakable  certainty. 
The  loathsome  leper  is  abhorred  because  he  bears  the 
mark  of  Cain  as  proof  that  in  a  former  life  he  com- 
mitted one  of  the  greatest  crimes  and  hence  this  curse 
came  upon  him.  With  such  convictions  the  people 
would  naturally  have  little  or  no  sympathy  for  lepers, 
however  deplorable  their  condition  may  be,  but  shun 
them,  for  they  are  the  once  dreaded  criminals. 

According  to  the  sacred  book  of  Hinduism  the  soul 
survives  the  death  of  the  body,  and  in  accordance  with 
its  previous  deeds,  it  passes  into  heaven,  or  into  hell 
for  a  number  of  years,  and  then  returns  for  reincarna- 
tion in  a  higher  or  lower  being  according  to  the  char- 
acter of  its  preponderating  credit  or  debit  account. 
The  revolting  description  of  the  horrible  hell  is  given 
in  the  Vishnu  Purana,  and  the  torments  are  limited  to 
one  thousand  years,  but  this  may  be  repeated  with  the 
infinity  of  reincarnations.  Hence  the  Vishnu  Purana 
referring  to  the  condition  of  those  even  in  heaven  says : 
"  Not  in  hell  alone  do  the  souls  of  the  deceased  undergo 
pain ;  there  is  no  cessation  even  in  heaven,  for  its  tem- 
porary inhabitant  is  ever  tormented  with  the  prospect 
of  descending  again  to  earth,  and  again  must  he  die. 
Whatever  is  produced  that  is  most  acceptable  to  man 
becomes  a  seed  whence  springs  the  tree  of  sorrow." 
There  is  no  such  note  of  fatalism  and  despair  in  the 
Gospel  of  Christ  who  taught  that  «  God  so  loved  the 
world  that  He  gave  His  only  begotten  Son  that  who- 


»' 


Kanna  and  Transmigration 


»n 


nerer  believeth  in  Him  should  not  perish,  bat  have 
eyerlasting  Ufa" 

The  practical  workings  of  the  fatalism  of  this  philos- 
ophy is  often  seen  in  the  apathy  and  patient  endurance 
of  the  people  in  meekly  submitting  to  evils  and  suffer- 
ings with  a  spirit  of  indifference,  instead  of  inquiring 
into  the  causes,  and  seeking  for  a  possible  remedy  so  as 
to  escape  them.  They  have  practically  disregarded  the 
remedial  agencies  for  the  prevention  of  smallpox,  the 
bubonic  plague,  and  for  the  relief  of  the  blind  and  the 
many  lepers,  for  their  misdeeds  have  fated  them  to 
suffer  the  misfortunes  that  have  oome  upon  them,  and 
from  which  there  is  no  escape. 

As  an  illustration  of  the  working  of  the  deep  in- 
grained belief  of  this  doctrine  in  the  minds  of  the  lower 
classes,  the  story  is  told  of  a  judge  who  sentenced  a 
cartman  for  a  certain  crime  of  which  he  claimed  to  be 
innocent  However,  he  received  the  sentence  with 
stolid  indifference,  and  then  said  to  the  judge  that  he 
did  not  care,  for  in  the  next  life  the  tables  would  be 
turned  and  then  he  would  get  even  with  him ;  for  the 
judge  would  be  reincarnated  as  a  bullock  tor  the  wrong, 
and  as  the  cartman  driving  that  unjust  judge,  he  would 
drive  him  over  the  highest  precipice  to  his  destriKstion, 
and  he  found  satisfaction  in  that  hope  of  revenge. 

We  had  a  most  practical  illustration  of  their  firm  be- 
lief in  the  doctrine  of  Karma  when  visiting  Poona.  We 
bad  seen  the  plague-stricken  cities  and  visited  the 
places  of  burning,  and  witnessed  the  appalling  ravages 
of  this  deadly  disease,  but  we  were  surprised  at  the  con- 
dition that  prevailed  in  this  city,  for  there  was  no  seg- 
regation of  the  people  from  the  quarters  doomed  by 
the  malignant  disease. 


I: 


158   The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 


4 


1 


:.    I-. 


I  suggested  to  a  retddent  physician  who  aooompanied 
us  that  it  looked  like  criminal  negligence  on  the  part 
of  the  government  officials.  He  assured  me  that  they 
had  done  their  best  to  prevent  the  spread  of  tbediseatio 
and  to  rescue  all  who  had  not  as  yet  contracted  it,  and 
we  drove  out  to  the  suburbs  where  he  showed  us  the 
many  temporary  buildings  that  had  been  erected  for 
the  care  of  the  people,  so  that  they  might  not  be  ex- 
posed to  the  pestilence.  Strange  to  say  the  buildings 
were  unoccupied,  for  the  people  would  not  abandon  the 
plague-stricken  district  and  when  men  were  sent  to 
compel  than,  a  bloody  riot  followed,  and  they  were 
obliged  to  abandon  the  Hindus  to  their  fate,  for  they 
claimed  that  England  was  invading  their  legal  rights 
by  interfering  with  their  religious  liberty  that  has  been 
guaranteed  to  them,  as  well  as  to  all  the  creeds  of 
India. 

In  accordance  with  their  religious  belief  the  bubonic 
plague  was  only  a  punishment  for  sins  committed,  and 
that  it  could  not  have  been  prevented,  and  neither  was 
there  any  possible  escape  from  it  on  the  part  of  those 
who  had  been  doomed  to  suffer  it  They  never  in- 
quired into  the  possible  natural  causes,  and  the  utter 
disregard  of  sanitation  that  prevailed,  for  Karma  had 
mastered  their  minds. 

No  doubt  this  pessimistic  philosophy  of  fatalism  has 
been  a  most  potent  agency  in  developing  and  spreading 
the  plagues  that  have  cost  the  lives  of  millions  of  un- 
fortunates in  India.  This  fact  was  vividly  impressed 
upon  me  on  an  occasion  when  speaJdng  to  a  leper. 
There  are  several  hundred  thousands  at  least  of  this 
horribly  afflicted  class  of  humanity  who  suffer  from  the 
loathsome  disease  that  is  often  worse  than  death.    No 


Karma  and  Transmigration 


«59 


hotpitals  are  provided  for  them  by  the  Hindus,  and 
they  receive  want  sympathy  from  a  people  who  believe 
that  these  grievcasly  afflicted  ones  are  only  snifering 
the  bitter  fruits  of  their  own  misdoings. 

One  day  I  was  attracted  by  a  leper  whose  face  was 
covered  by  deep  lines  in  which  was  written  much  of 
the  story  of  his  life  of  bitter  suffering.    That  pathetic 
expression  appealed  to  me  in  an  unusual  degree,  even 
in  that  land  whore  we  are  surrounded  by  the  unfor- 
tunates, and  I  asked  him  how  long  he  had  been  afflicted 
and  he  informed  me  that  all  his  life  he  had  suffered 
from  the  leprosy.    I  expressed  my  sympathy  and  spoke 
some  kind  words,  when  to  my  surprise  a  big  boy  who 
had   gathered   with   the   crowd  kughed  and  said: 
"  Don't  pity  him ;  it  is  all  his  own  fault  that  he  has  the 
leprosy."    I  replied  that  it  was  not  his  own  fault  for 
he  had  told  me  that  he  was  a  leper  from  a  little  child, 
and  had  not  done  anything  to  bring  such  an  affliction 
upon  him.    But  he  answered  me :  "  Oh,  he  was  bom 
that  way  because  of  the  great  crimes  that  he  com- 
mitted in  a  former  life."    He  only  uttered  what  I  have 
since  read  in  one  of  the  Sacred  Books,  that  for  the 
greatest  crime  that  a  man  can  commit  he  will  be  bom 
a  leper  in  the  next  life ;  and  hence  the  very  man  whom 
I  was  profoundly  pitying  had  been  a  great  criminal 
and  was  now  only  suffering  his  just  desert,  and  was  de- 
serving of  no  sympathy  according  to  the  doctrine  of 
the  Hindus,  and  he  received  no  kind  consideration  from 
them. 

The  doctrine  of  the  transmigration  of  souls  is  an  at- 
tempt to  account  for  the  existence  of  evil  and  the  suf- 
ferings of  the  innocent,  as  well  as  for  the  unjust  in- 
equalities of  life ;  but  the  bitter  fruits  endured  by  its 


,:j| 


.'] 


i 


r^ t-'  p 


m 


r    I 


V    ' 


160  The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

foUowen  shoir  that  it  it  an  onaatitfaotory  wlotioii,  for 
thia  oheerlcM  and  fittaliatio  creed  haa  paralyzed  ambi- 
tioB  and  the  spirit  of  progress  and  self-betterment. 
There  is  no  ray  of  hope  or  inspiration  in  the  belief  that 
my  birth  and  present  life  have  been  irrevocably  fixed 
by  a  previous  existence  of  which  I  have  no  knowledge, 
and  for  deeds  committed  of  which  I  have  no  conscious- 
ness. This  countless  series  of  existences  into  which 
every  one  is  destined  to  be  reborn  for  a  brief  sojourn, 
and  then  have  an  intermission  in  heaven  or  in  hell  be- 
fore plunging  into  another  reincarnation  on  earth,  is 
sufficient  to  drive  them  to  desperation.  Fortunately 
the  people  are  sometimes  wiser  than  their  philoeophy 
and  they  escape  some  of  its  logical  sequences,  for  there 
are  grave  difficulties  in  the  way. 

Who  in  such  a  system  can  keep  a  clear  record  of 
their  genealogical  tree;  and  who  can  explain  how 
identity  ia  possible  in  an  intelligent  being  who  becomes 
d^;raded  from  being  a  philosopher  through  a  process 
of  transmigration  and  appears  in  the  new  role  of  a 
chattering  monkey,  a  dog  or  perchance  a  cobra  ?  Such 
a  confounding  and  compounding  of  conceptions  and 
beings  that  are  separated  by  an  impassable  chasm  is 
contrary  to  Western  thinking.  It  is  impossible  that 
man  should  become  an  ape  or  some  four  footed  beast, 
for  this  is  contrary  to  all  that  science  teaches  in  refer- 
ence to  the  law  of  evolution,  the  lower  to  the  higher, 
but  Hinduism  reverses  the  order  an  infinite  number  of 
times  by  abruptly  arresting  man  in  his  ascending  scale 
and  hurling  him  down  again  to  become  one  of  the 
lower  creatures.  I  cannot  understand  by  what  intel- 
lectual or  moral  forces  the  ascent  to  man  could  be  at- 
tained after  such  reverses.    The  efl^ect  of  such  a  belief 


Karma  and  Transmigration 


161 


apon  the  people  is  expreued  in  oo»  of  the  folk-iongi 
of  South  India : 

"  How  many  hirtha  are  pait,  I  cannot  tell, 
How  many  yet  to  come,  no  man  can  mj. 
But  thla  alone  I  know,  and  know  foil  well. 
That  pain  and  grief  embitter  all  the  way.** 

Sir  Alfred  Lyall  mentions  a  case  that  illostrates  how 
the  people  believe  that  at  death  man's  spirit  must  be  pro- 
vided with  some  temporary  tenement,  whether  animate 
or  inanimate.  "Some  fifty  years  ago  a  very  high 
English  official  died  in  a  fortress  in  a  place  that  is  one 
of  the  centres  of  Brahmanio  orthodoxy,  and  at  the 
moment  when  the  news  of  his  death  reached  the  Sepoy 
guard  at  the  main  gate,  a  black  oat  rushed  out  of  it. 
The  guard  presented  arms  to  the  cat  as  a  salute  to  the 
flying  spirit  of  the  powerful  Englishman ;  and  the  coin- 
cidence took  so  firm  a  hold  on  the  locality  that  up  to  a 
few  years  ago  neither  exhortation  nor  orders  could 
prevent  a  Hindu  sentry  at  the  gate  from  presenting 
arms  at  any  cat  that  passed  out  of  the  fort  at  night." 

Dr.  Wilkins  who  spent  many  years  among  the 
people  mentions  an  instance  that  forcibly  illustrates 
their  belief  in  transmigration  of  souls :  '*  When  Oulab 
Singh,  the  father  of  the  late  maharajah,  died,  the  Brah- 
mans  and  Pundits  declared  that  he  had  passed  by  the 
process  of  the  metempsychosis  into  the  body  of  a  fish. 
Now  the  lakes  of  Cashmere,  as  well  as  the  rivers  and 
the  canals,  are  full  of  fish,  and  owing  to  this  belief  no 
one  was  allowed  to  catch  them,  lest  the  maharajah 
might  be  taken  and  eaten."  Dr.  Wilkins  quotes  di- 
rectly from  the  account  published  at  the  time  that  the 
death  occurred. 

Owing  to  belief  in  this  doctrine,  the  future  is  in- 


MICXOCOPV  RiSmUTION  TEST  CHART 

(ANSI  and  ISO  TEST  CHART  No.  2) 


1.0 


I.I 


IS 


1^      1^ 

12.2 

12.0 

1.8 


112 

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^  /APPLIED  IIVMGE     Inc 

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tfls.i 


162    The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

volved  in  great  uncertainty  and  startling  surprises 
may  be  experienced  in  the  successive  reincarnations  as 
they  are  made  to  assume  the  character  of  higher  or 
lower  beings,  as  the  following  story  will  illustrate. 
"  There  was  a  great  and  good  king  who  being  tired  of 
life  presented  himself  at  the  gate  of  heaven  with  a  dog 
that  had  been  his  companion  and  friend  of  many  years. 
On  being  told  that  his  good  deeds  entitled  him  to  enter 
heaven  he  was  also  informed  that  his  dog  could  not  be 
pennitted  to  accompany  him.  Then  said  the  king, '  I 
will  go  to  helL'  To  hell  he  went,  and  when  taken  be- 
fore Tama  (the  judge),  the  king  told  the  story  of  his 
not  being  admitted  to  heaven.  '  Oh,'  said  Yama, '  this 
was  simply  to  try  your  constancy :  that  dog  is  your 
father,  and  as  you  have  proved  yourself  worthy,  you 
and  he  can  now  enter  upon  the  enjoyment  of  heavenly 
bUss.'  Then  the  dog  resumed  the  human  form  of  the 
father,  who  then  with  his  son  entered  heaven  to- 
gether." 

Colonel  Sleeman,  in  "Eambles  and  Recollections," 
cites  a  true  and  remarkable  instance  of  this  firm  be- 
lief in  connection  with  the  sati  rite.  "  In  this  case  it 
was  not  the  wife  of  the  deceased  man  who  voluntarily 
burned  herself,  but  the  wife  of  a  man  then  living,  she 
believing  that  in  three  previous  births  she  had  been  his 
wife,  and  that  in  her  present  birth  she  had  been  sepa- 
rated from  him  as  a  punishment  for  sin  committed  in 
her  last  previous  birth.  It  is  easy  for  us  to  laugh  at 
such  superstitions,  and  it  is  difficult  to  understand  how 
people  can  be  enslaved  by  them ;  but  there  is  no  doubt 
that  they  have  had  and  still  have  a  firm  grasp  of  the 
minds  of  millions." 

Colonel  Sleeman  obtained  the  information  from  a 


Karma  and  Transmigration 


163 


relative  of  the  deceased  and  the  story  that  he  related 
is  as  follows :  "  When  my  eldest  brother,  who  was  so 
long  a  native  collector  in  this  district  under  you,  died 
about  twenty  years  ago  at  Sehora,  a  Lodhee  womau, 
who  resided  two  miles  distant  in  the  village  of  Kbit- 
tolee,  which  had  been  held  by  your  family  for  several 
generations,  declared  that  she  would  burn  herself  with 
hun  on  the  funeral  pile ;  that  she  had  been  his  wife  in 
three  previous  births,  had  already  burnt  herself  with 
him  three  times,  and  had  to  bum  with  him  four  times 
more.    She  was  then  sixty  years  of  age,  and  had  a 
husband  living  about  the  same  age.    We  were  all 
astonished  when  she  came  forward  with  this  story  and 
we  told  her  it  must  be  a  mistake,  as  we  were  Brahmans 
while  she  was  a  Lodhee.    She  said  there  was  no  mis- 
take in  the  matter ;  that  she  in  her  last  birth,  residing 
with  my  brother  in  the  sacred  city  of  Benares,  one  day 
gave  a  holy  man,  who  asked  for  charity,  salt  by  mis- 
take for  sugar  with  his  food ;  that  in  consequence  he 
told  her  that  in  her  next  birth  she  should  be  separated 
from  her  husband,  and  be  from  inferior  caste,  but  that 
if  she  did  her  duty  well  in  that  state,  she  should  be  re- 
united to  him  in  the  following  birth.    We  told  her  that 
all  this  must  be  a  dream,  and  the  widow  of  my  brother 
insisted  that  if  she  were  not  allowed  to  bum  herself, 
the  other  should  not  be  allowed  to  take  her  plaxje.    We 
prevented  the  widu^v  from  ascending  the  pile  and  she 
died  at  a  good  old  age  two  years  ago  at  Sehora.    My 
brother's  body  was  burnt  at  Sehora,  and  the  poor 
Lodhee  woman  came  and  stole  a  handful  of  the  ashes 
which  she  placed  in  her  bosom,  and  took  back  with 
her  to  Khittolee.    There  she  prevailed  upon  her  hus- 
band and  brother  to  assist  her  in  her  return  to  her 


i'' 


51'   'i 


y!' 


1^' 


164   The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

former  husband  and  caste  as  a  Brahman.  I^o  soul  else 
would  assist  them,  as  we  got  the  native  chief  to  pre- 
vent it,  and  these  three  persons  brought  on  their  own 
heads  the  pile  on  which  she  seated  herself  with  the 
ashes  in  her  bosom.  The  husband  and  his  brother  set 
fire  to  the  pile  and  she  was  burned.  After  this  the 
members  of  the  family  firmly  believed  the  woman's 
story,  and  the  father  of  the  man  whose  wife  she  de- 
clared she  had  been  in  previous  births  bore  all  the 
funeral  expenses,  and  a  tomb  marks  the  site  where  the 
sati  took  place." 

In  the  doctrine  of  Karma  there  is  no  place  for  an 
almighty,  all  loving  and  merciful  God,  who  pities  as  a 
father  and  comforts  as  a  mother,  and  who  has  taught 
us  to  come  to  Him  with  all  our  sins  and  sorrows,  and 
receive  that  peace  of  God  that  passeth  all  understand- 
ing. The  relentless  law  of  Karma  sends  man  adrift 
upon  a  sea  of  trouble  without  chart  or  anchorage  or 
any  help  from  a  Supreme  Being,  but  thrown  entirely 
upon  his  own  resources.  Where  is  the  justice  in  Karma 
that  punishes  a  man  for  hypothetical  evils  charged 
against  him,  but  of  which  he  has  no  knowledge  what- 
ever? What  is  the  moral  and  remedial  effect  of  a 
doctrine  that  punishes  a  man  for  theoretical  crimes  of 
which  he  is  not  guilty  and  of  which  he  has  no  moral 
consciousness  ?  How  can  he  reform  when  innocent  of 
the  guilt  charged  against  him  ?  Why  should  he  suffer 
the  grievous  misfortunes  when  there  is  no  conviction 
nor  remembrance  of  the  sins  imputed  to  him?  We 
can  imagine  the  deadening  influence  in  paralyzing  the 
conscience  when  subject  to  such  a  lying  oracle  that 
would  persuade  the  innocent  that  they  are  guilty. 

Dr.  John  P.  Jones,  a  conservative  scholar,  speaking 


Karma  and  Transmigration 


165 


from  many  years  of  observation  of  its  moral  effect 
upon  the  people  states:  "The  prevalence  of  this  doc- 
trine in  India  is  one  of  the  saddest  facts  connected 
with  its  life.    It  is  sombre  and  depressing  in  the  ex- 
treme and  robs  the  mind  of  a  good  portion  of  the  small 
comfort  which  the  idea  of  absorption  might  otherwise 
brmg  to  it,  for  it  has  exercised  a  mighty  influence  over 
high  and  low.    Nor  does  it  appear  how  this  process, 
as  a  method  of  discipline,  can  achieve  what  is  ex- 
pected of  i«.  ,  .  J     « 
«« It  is  maintained  that  ultimately  all  the  myriads  of 
separate  souls  wiU  cross  over  this  terrible  stream  of 
human  existence  and  reach  the  further  shore  of  emanci- 
pation.   But  by  what  aptitude  or  eflBciency  there  can 
be  in  metempsychosis  itself  to  reach  this  end  is  not  ap- 
parent.   Some  claim  that  its  highest  merit  is  that  it  is  a 
powerful  deterrent  from  sin  and  incentive  to  virtue, 
but  the  all-sufficient  refutation  to  such  a  statement  is 
the  present  condition  of  the  Hindu  race  itself.    If  any 
people  on  earth,  more  than  others,  sin  with  'fatal 
facility,'  and  seem  perfectly  oblivious  to  the  character 
and  consequences  of  their  deeds,  they  are  the  descend- 
ants of  the  rishis  of  old.    To  judge  this  doctrine  by  its 
results  in  India  is  to  pronounce  it  an  error  and  a  curse." 
"Whence  came  this  teaching  of  metempsychosis  that 
for  so  many  centuries  has  pervaded  the  Hindu  mind  ? 
Paul  Deussen  in  bis  "  Philosophy  of  the  Upanishads  " 
states :  "  In  no  Vedic  text  earUer  than  the  Upanishads 
can  the  doctrine  of  the  soul's  transmigration  be  cer- 
tainly traced ;  but  from  the  Upanishad  times  down  to 
the  present  it  has  held  a  foremost  position  in  Indian 
thought,  and  exercises  still  the  greatest  practical  ir- 
fluence." 


l66   The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 


Maurice  Bloomfield  states  that  "  the  genns  of  belief 
in  transmigration  are  very  likely  to  have  filtered  into 
the  Brahmanical  consciousness  from  belo\fir,  from  popu- 
lar sources,  possibly  from  some  of  the  aboriginal,  non- 
Aryan  tribes  of  India.  Like  a  will-of-the-wisp  the  be- 
lief in  transmigration  flares  up  in  many  parts  of  the 
world, — traces  among  the  Egyptians,  Celts  and  Greeks. 
As  far  as  India  is  concerned  one  thing  is  certain :  real 
metempsychosis  does  not  enter  into  the  higher  thought 
of  India,  or  at  least  is  not  stated  unmistakably  until  we 
come  to  the  Upanishads.  When,  however,  this  belief 
has  finally  taken  shape,  we  find  in  it  the  following 
established  items  of  faith.  Every  living  creature  is 
reborn  in  some  organic  shape,  every  living  creature 
had  a  previous  existence,  and  every  living  .creature  is 
again  and  again  the  prey  of  death,  until  in  some  life 
all  desire  and  all  activity  as  the  outcome  of  desire 
shall  have  been  laid  aside.  This  is  the  Hindu  salva- 
tion, viz.,  absolute  resignation  of  the  finite,  futile,  il- 
lusory world ;  cessation  of  the  will  to  live,  and  th( 
act  of  living.  This  of  itself  produces  union  with 
Brahma."  "  There  is  in  all  Hindu  thought  no  expres- 
sion of  hope  for  the  race,  no  theory  of  betterment  all 
along  the  Une." 


vn 


CASTE 

THE  caste  system  in  India  is  the  unique  social- 
religious  feature  of  Hinduism  and  it  is  en- 
forced by  an  inexorable  law,  for  however  het- 
erodox the  Hindus  may  be  in  doctrinal  beliefs,  they 
are  most  scrupulously  orthodox  and  exacting  in  the  ob- 
servance of  caste.  There  is  no  social  institution  in  any 
other  country  with  which  we  may  compare  it,  for  it  is 
characteristic  alone  of  Hinduism,  which  owes  its 
strength  as  well  as  its  weakness  largely  to  the  per- 
sistency of  the  system  of  caste. 

The  vast  population  of  more  than  two  hundred  mil- 
lions of  Hindus  has  been  subdivided  by  this  artificial 
social  cleavage  into  countless  numbers  of  groups  of 
mutually  exclusive  aggregates,  though  often  separated 
by  the  most  superficial  standards  of  superiority  or  in- 
feriority. Whilst  they  tolerate  the  greatest  laxity  of 
beliefs  they  are  most  intolerant  in  regard  to  any  viola- 
tion of  the  inflexible  law  of  caste,  for  the  most  heret- 
ical and  contradictory  religious  ideas  are  overlooked ; 
but  any  insubordination,  for  conscience'  or  convenience ' 
sake,  to  the  established  rules  of  caste  subjects  the  of- 
fender to  the  severe  penalties  that  make  his  life  a 
burden,  and  even  his  relatives  may  be  involved  in  the 
disabilities  imposed  for  such  infractions  of  an  unjust 
social  system.  In  extreme  cases  the  entire  family  has 
been  denied  the  use  of  water  from  the  common  village 

well. 

167 


l68  The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 


The  extravagant  claims  made  by  the  Brahmans  for 
the  divine  origin,  immutable  and  inviolable  character, 
of  caste  seem  incredible  to  us.  They  have  inflicted  out- 
rageous wrongs  upon  the  lower  and  outcaste  popula- 
tion. They  have  not  only  denied  them  all  the  benefits 
of  education  and  the  opportunity  for  improving  their 
deplorable  condition  so  that  they  might  rise  in  the  scale 
of  humanity  from  generation  to  generation,  but  they 
have  degraded  them  to  the  depths  of  the  depressed 
classes,  with  whom  they  have  nothing  in  common,  and 
not  even  recognizing  them  as  their  brother-man,  and  the 
One  Supreme  God  as  the  Father  of  all. 

On  the  contrary,  strange  as  it  may  seem,  they  are 
even  denied  the  inalienable  rights  of  religion ;  for  ac- 
cording to  the  "  Laws  of  Manu  "  the  Brahmans  were  for- 
bidden to  treat  the  Sudra  with  human  consideration  as 
to  his  inherent  rights,  and  in  Chapters  lY,  YII  and 
VIII  we  read :  '^  Let  him  not  give  to  a  Sudra  advice, 
nor  the  remnants  of  his  meal,  nor  food  offered  to  the 
gods,  nor  let  him  explain  the  sacred  law  to  such  a  man, 
nor  impose  upon  him  a  penance."  "  For  he  who  ex- 
plains the  sacred  law  to  a  Sudra,  or  dictates  to  him  a 
penance,  will  sink  together  with  that  man  into  the 
hell."  "But  a  Sudra,  whether  bought  or  unbought, 
he  may  compel  to  do  servile  work,  for  he  was  created 
by  the  Self-Existent  to  be  the  slave  of  a  Brahman." 

"  A  Sudra,  though  emancipated  by  his  master,  is  not 
released  from  servitude;  since  that  is  innate  in  him, 
who  can  set  him  free  from  it  ?  "  "A  Brahman  may 
confidently  seize  the  goods  of  (his)  Sudra  (slave) ;  for  as 
that  (slave)  can  have  no  property,  his  master  may  take 
his  possessions."  "No  collection  of  wealth  must  be 
made  by  a  Sudra,  even  though  he  be  able  (to  do  it), 


Caste 


169 


for  a  Sadra  who  has  acquired  wealth  gives  pain  to 
Brahmans."  "  But  let  a  Sudra  oerve  Brahmans,  either 
for  the  sake  of  heavei ,  oi-  with  a  view  to  both  this  life 
and  the  next,  for  he  who  is  called  the  servant  of  a 
Brahman  thereby  gains  all  his  ends." 

The  life  of  the  Sudra  was  held  in  low  esteem  and  in 
the  sacred  book  Bandhayaira  we  learn  that  "the 
penalty  for  killing  a  Sudra  was  the  same  as  that  for 
killing  a  flamingo,  a  crow,  an  owl,  a  frog  or  a  dog." 
We  shall  search  in  vain  among  such  teachings  for  the 
doctrine  of  the  brotherhood  of  man  that  some  Swamis 
claim  for  Hinduism.  Even  the  rights  and  comforts  of 
their  religion  were  expressly  denied  to  the  Sudra,  and 
with  penalties  for  any  violation  that  show  the  heartless 
and  cruel  treatment  of  the  Sudra,  for  in  the  '^  Gautama," 
Chapter  XII,  it  is  stated  that  if  a  Sudra  were  "  to  listen 
to  a  recital  of  the  Vedio  texts,  they  were  to  pour  molten 
lac  or  tin  into  his  ears,  and  if  he  repeated  the  sacred 
words  his  tongue  was  to  be  cut  out,  and  if  he  remem- 
bered  them  his  body  shall  be  split  in  twain." 

For  a  long  time  no  Sudra  was  allowed  to  appear  in 
the  streets  of  Foona  before  9  a.  m.  and  after  3  p.  M., 
lest  hia  lengthened  shadow  or  doublet  should  fall  upon 
the  twice  born  Brahman,  and  bring  ceremonial  defile- 
ment to  this  thrice  arrogant  Pharisee  of  Hinduism.  It 
was  a  practical  illustration  of  the  logical  sequence  of 
the  al^urdity  of  the  law  of  caste,  but  so  unreasonable 
and  inhuman  that  English  rule  removed  this  old  social 
statute  from  the  street  etiquette  of  Poona,  and  hence- 
forth the  Sudra,  as  well  as  the  Brahman,  enjoyed  the  un- 
challenged freedom  of  the  city  during  all  hours  instead 
of  being  tabooed  from  nine  to  three. 
We  may  wonder  why  the  majority  submitted  to  such 


1  i! 


it    t 


It 


t 


J-  —    :  fc 


170  The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

grrievous  and  humiliating  wrongs  that  entailed  so  much 
inconvenience  and  hardship,  but  we  must  get  their 
view-point  and  remember  that  to  them  it  was  a  matter 
of  inheritance  and  there  was  no  dissent,  for  it  was 
natural,  as  all  things  continued  as  they  had  been  from 
the  generations  of  old,  and  they  had  no  other  thought 
but  accepted  the  situation  as  a  necessary  and  fixed 
institution  by  divine  enactment,  and  from  which  there 
should  be  no  departure.  In  fact  from  the  earliest 
childhood  the  law  of  caste  was  fundamental  in  the 
teachings  and  practices  that  they  learned  from  their 
parents  and  they  g^w  up  as  the  product  of  such  ante- 
cedents. 

In  the  native  state  of  Travancorc  a  most  invidious 
caste  distinction  was  imposed  upon  the  lower  castes 
and  outcastes  by  the  ruling  classes,  prohibiting  the 
women  from  wearing  any  garment  above  the  waist; 
but  when  sor^e  of  the  women  became  converted  to 
Christianity  they  insisted  upon  wearing  a  loose  jacket. 
Bitter  persecution  followed,  and  it  was  not  until  some 
thirty  years  later,  or  in  1859,  that  the  legal  right  to 
» var  this  modest  waist  was  granted  them.  The  tyr- 
anny of  caste  is  much  greater  in  Southern  India  than 
in  the  northern  portion  where  Mohammedan  influence 
has  operated  somewhat  as  a  social  leveller,  although  in 
many  places  it  has  taken  on  from  her  Hindu  neighbours 
some  of  the  evils  of  caste,  in  spite  of  the  doctrine  of 
their  religion  that  all  are  equal  in  God's  sight.  How- 
ever, a  Sudra  ranks  much  higher  in  the  South  than  in 
the  iS'orth.  Besides,  the  Sudras  are  so  numerous,  pro- 
gressive and  influential  in  public  affairs,  that  they  are 
practically  an  upper-clean  caste,  as  well  as  the  dominant 
class  in  Travancore. 


I  -  • « 


Caste 


171 


From  the  "Official  CeDSos  Report"  we  learn  some 
remarkable  facts  as  to  the  extremely  sensitive  adjust- 
ment of  the  social  oonsoioasnees  of  the  Brahmans,  for 
they  claim  to  suffer  pollution  not  merely  by  the  touch 
of  the  Mayar,  but  beneath  him  is  the  class  of  untouch- 
ables whom  he  must  keep  away  at  certain  prescribed 
necessary  distances  according  to  their  scale  of  grada- 
tion, and  which  has  been  deflnitely  fixed  in  acconlance 
with  supposed  ascertained  facts.  For  example,  people 
of  the  Rt^malan  group,  including  masons,  blacksmiths, 
carpenters  and  workers  in  leather  pollute  at  a  distance 
of  twenty-four  feet,  toddy-drawers  at  thirty-six  feet, 
Palayan  or  Cheruman  cultivators  at  forty-eight  'eet ; 
while  in  the  case  of  the  Paraiyan  (Pariahs)  who  eat 
beef,  the  range  of  pollution  ia  stated  to  be  not  less  than 
sixty-four  feet.  Some  consolation  may  be  taken  here 
from  the  fact  that  in  an  earlier  publication  the  extreme 
range  of  the  social  polluting  X-rays  of  the  Pariah  is 
stated  to  be  seventy-two  feet.  So  there  has  been  eight 
feet  of  progress  for  the  Pariah. 

"  In  some  provinces  teachers  will  object  to  the  ad- 
mission of  low-caste  children  in  their  schools,  or  if 
they  admit  them  make  them  sit  outside  in  the  ve- 
randa." However,  even  these  seemingly  extreme  ex- 
amples of  long-distance  susceptibility  to  pollution  are 
exceeded  in  the  case  of  certain  haughty  Brahmans  who 
have  become  so  thoroughly  possessed  with  their  su- 
periority over  the  common  herd,  that  they  claim  to  be 
susceptible  to  the  polluting  influence  of  a  certain  class 
of  untouchables  even  at  the  distance  of  three  hundred 
feet,  and  hence  they  are  obliged  to  take  great  precau- 
tion when  walking  in  public  places  and  on  the  high- 
way ;  whilst  in  the  crowded  streets  it  is  to  be  presumed 


P  ' 


172   The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

that  neoeasity  knows  no  law  and  they  close  their  eyes 
against  such  social  distinction. 

As  an  illostration  of  the  actual  situation  a  writer 
to  the  London  Times  relates  the  following  occurrence : 
**  In  Oochin  a  few  years  ago  I  was  crossing  a  bridge 
and  just  in  front  of  me  walked  a  respectable-looking 
native.  Ue  suddenly  turned,  running  back  to  the  end 
of  the  bridge  from  which  he  had  come,  and  plunged 
out  of  sight  into  the  jungle  on  the  side  of  the  road. 
He  had  seen  a  Brahman  entering  on  the  bridge  from 
the  other  end,  and  would  not  incur  his  resentment.  In 
the  native  state  of  Travancore  it  is  not  uncommon  to 
see  a  Panchama  witness  in  a  lawsuit,  standing  about 
one  hundred  yards  from  the  court  so  as  not  to  defile 
the  Brahman  judge  and  pleadftrs,  whilst  a  row  of  peones, 
or  messengers,  standing  between  him  and  the  court, 
hand  out  its  questions  to  him  and  pass  back  his  replies. 
No  doubt  the  abject  ignorance  and  squalor,  and  the 
repulsive  habits  of  these  unfortunate  castes,  help  to  ex- 
plain and  to  perpetuate  their  ostracism,  but  they  do  not 
exculpate  a  social  system  which  prescribes  or  tolerates 
such  a  state  of  things.  Naturally  the  Panchamas  are 
poor,  dirty,  ignorant  and,  as  a  consequence  of  many 
centuries  of  oppression,  peculia  'y  addicted  to  the  more 
mean  and  servile  vices." 

Whilst  Hinduism  has  never  attempted  to  do  anything 
for  the  social  elevation  of  the  depressed  classes,  it  must 
seem  hard  at  times  for  the  Brahman,  who  once  had  the 
Sudra  under  his  feet,  to  be  compelled  to  appear  before 
the  judge  of  a  much  inferior  caste  to  have  his  lawsuit 
decided  by  one  whom  he  had  spumed  as  belonging  to 
an  unclean  and  degenerate  class  of  beings.  When  sub- 
jected to  such  humiliaLion,  and  seeing  that  the  tables 


Caste 


>73 


have  been  tanued,  he  mast  begin  to  think  that  a  Daniel 
has  come  to  judgment  through  British  rule ;  for  the 
ooontless  social  groups  meet  on  a  oommoL  level  of 
justice  in  the  courts  that  are  supposed  to  reoogn.^  no 
caste,  though  abuses  still  prevail. 

The  Pariahs  was  a  general  term  that  designated  the 
lower  classes  of  the  Hindus  or  Sub-Hindus  not  em- 
braced in  the  four  highest  clean  castes,  but  in  the  oflBcial 
report  for  the  sake  of  convenience  they  are  made  to  in- 
clude all  the  depressed  classes,  and  called  Fanchamas. 
They  number  no  less  than  fifty  millions  or  one-fourth 
of  the  entire  Hindu  population.  Some  by  the  sheer 
power  of  their  inherent  virtues  have  risen  from  their 
depressed  situation  in  whicn  they  were  bom  and  through 
prosperity  have  been  advanced  in  the  social  scale,  so 
that  probably  one-half  of  the  Sudras  of  to-day  have 
come  from  the  Panchamas.  Owing  to  their  social  dis- 
abilities and  neglect  of  even  the  rudiments  of  an  educa- 
tion, their  ignorance  and  poverty  are  deplorable,  with 
little  hope  for  immediate  elevation. 

The  origin  of  caste  in  India  may  have  been  the 
necessary  result  of  the  instinct  of  self-preservation 
among  the  members  of  the  Aryan  race,  who  foresaw 
that  the  continuance  of  indiscriminate  intermarriage 
with  the  aboriginal  inhabitants  would  mean  the  ultimate 
assimilation  of  their  distinctive  racial  traits,  and  the 
extinction  of  their  identity  as  the  superior  white 
people  by  being  absorbed  by  the  vast  hosts  whom  they 
had  subjugated.  Time  wrought  many  changes  and 
introduced  innumerable  subdivisions  among  the  once 
original  four  castes  which  have  been  split  up,  'n  many 
instances,  into  indefinable  differences  that  only  the 
initiate  can  discriminate;  and  this  is  true  of  the  higher 


174  The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

as  weU  as  of  the  lower,  for  there  are  nearly  two  thou- 
sand Brahman  castes  in  India  to4ay,  and  many  thou- 
sands among  the  lower  classes. 

Strange  as  it  may  seem  to  us,  every  Hindu  appears 
to  be  proud  of  his  own  caste,  no  matter  how  low  and 
despised  it  may  be,  and  he  clings  tenaciownly  to  the 
requirements  of  his  particular  caste  as  the  Brahman 
does  to  his,  and  would  scorn  a  proposal  to  marry 
below  his  own  despised  caste.    No  one  would  deny 
them  the  possible  satisfaction  that  they  may  derive 
from  such  feelings  of  pride,  for  they  have  so  Uttle  for 
self-congratulation.    This  caste  spjnt  that  permeates 
aU  the  social  strata  provides  them  at  least  with  a  sense 
of  social  aristocracy  by  being  able  tO  despise   those 
that  are  stUl  lower  down.    They  imitate  their  superiors 
in  observing  caste  just  as  they  do  in  the  excessive  use 
of  jewelry,  and  whilst  lackmg  in  quaUt}-,  they  surpass 
inquu.tity  for  they  wear  it  on  the  forehead,  ears,  nose, 
neck,  arms,  wrists,  fingers  and  even  on  the  toes,  and  we 
saw    some    wearing   heavy  rings  of  pewter,  several 
pounds  in  weight,  around  their  ankles,  and  only  an  ex- 
treme sense  of  vanity  could  have  reUeved  them  of  the 

discomfort.  ,        ,  ,    -vr  x-      i 

We  may  weU  ask.  What  do  the  leaders  of  the  National 
Movement  mean  when  they  cry  out,  "India  for  the 
Indians,"  whilst  denying  the  inaUenable  rights  of 
common  humanity  to  fifty  milUons  of  the  people  of 
India,  and  by  every  act  violating  the  doctrine  of  the 
brotherhood  of  man  by  their  rigid  insistence  «P<>n  the 
observance  of  the  inexorable  law  of  caste?  When 
they  grow  eloquent  in  demanding  that  the  Indians 
should  own  and  rule  India,  they  ought  to  define  the 
particular  class  of  Indians  that  they  would  include  m 


Caste 


»75 


that  category ;  and  they  should  also  mention  the  fifty 
millions  whom  they  would  exclude,  and  doom  to  a 
hopelessly  depressed  condition  through  the  continuance 
of  the  caste  system.    There  is  no  hope  in  sight  for 
the  redemption  and  elevation  of  the  degraded  Pariah 
miUions  if  British  rule  should  be  supplanted  by  the 
arrogant   leaders  of  the  upper  castes.    The  present 
government  has  endeavoured  to  secure  equal  political 
rights  for  all,  and  many  of  the  Sudras  and  even  out- 
oastes  occupy  prominent  positions  among  the  ofllcials, 
and  work  together,  side  by  side  with  the  higher  castes, 
wao  would  have  abhorred  them  had  it  not  been  for  the 
enforcement  of  British  justice. 

It  is  estimated  that  there  are  no  less  than  twenty 
thousand  different  castes  in  India,  ranging  from  the 
highest  of  the  Brahman  and  Rajput  class  to  the  lowest 
castes.  No.  does  this  numerous  group  of  class  distinc- 
tions descend  to  the  depths  of  degraded  humanity,  for 
we  must  go  far  below  every  social  strata  that  has  been 
dignified  b^  the  name  of  caste  to  that  vast  population 
of  depress^  beings  known  as  the  outcastes  and  who 
number  as  many  as  fifty  millions  of  souls.  This  is  an 
exceedingly  interesting  type  of  humanity,  for  they  have 
been  the  main  constituency  that  has  furnished  the 
Christian  converts. 

"We  must  always  remember  that  strictly  speaking 
there  is  no  national  type  in  India,  such  as  exists  in 
the  various  countries  of  Europe,  and  in  the  strict  sense 
these  outcastes  are  not  Hindus.  We  must  go  deep 
down  on  social  stilts  to  descend  to  the  lowest  of  the 
outcastes,  the  Pallars,  Pariahs  and  the  Palayars  who 
are  regarded  in  more  respects  than  one  as  unclean ; 
yet  it  is  from  this  class  in  Southern  India  that  Chris- 


176  The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

tianity  has  won  the  great  majority  of  her  oonverta,  and 
transformed  many  of  them  into  representative  citazens. 
These  have  been  the  submerged  class,  despised  and 
ostracized  by  Hinduism,  and  excluded  from  the  temple 
as  though  their  touch  were  pollution,  for  the  sacred 
places  would  be  defiled,  as  they  have  been  stigmatized 
as  the  «  untouchables  "  and  contact  would  mean  social 
and  religious  defilement.    Their  state  has  been  doubly 
deplorable  in  being  proscribed  and  placed  under  the 
ban   of  reUgion  and  excluded  from  all  its  possible 
benefits.    They  were  often  treated  as  inhuman  bemgs 
and  worse  than  the  animals,  for  often  the  Panchamas 
were  not  allowed  to  take  their  water  from  the  pubUo 
well  but  were  obliged  to  go  long  distances  for  it,  unless 
they  could  prevail,  as  in  certain  cases,  upon  caste  women 
to  give  them  the  necessary  water,  for  often  individuals 
were  far  more  charitable  than  the  law  of  caste  that 
governed  them.  . 

It  is  certainly  paradoxical  to  claim,  as  certam  Swamu 
do,  that  the  doctrine  of  the  brotherhood  of  man  has 
been  embraced  in  the  teachings  and  practices  of  Hin- 
duism, which  by  formal  enaxjtments  and  social  usag^ 
has  for  centuries  perpetuated  the  caste  system,  and 
predetermined  the  superior  condition  of  some  favoured 
millions  before  they  were  bom,  whilst  doommg  to  an 
appaUing  social  condition  the  tens  of  milUons  of  others 
by  an  irrevocable  law,  that  has  been  based  upon  the 
artificial   distinctions  of  a  remote  ancestry.     Every 
succeeding  generation  is  supposed  to  be  bom  into  dis- 
tinct groups  of  widely  differing  social  standmgs,  and 
without  any  reference  to  their  personal  worth,  moral 
character  or  intellectual  culture.    The  worthless  and 
unscropulous  Brahman  beggar  is  held  superior  m  the 


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Caste 


177 


scale  of  humanity  to  the  noblest  and  most  influential 
citizen,  who  by  a  life  of  consecrated  service  and  generous 
deeds  has  proved  himself  to  be  one  of  God's  noblemen 
and  a  benefactor  of  mankind.  All  this  avails  as  nothing 
in  competing  for  the  honours  of  social  standing  in  the 
community  when  matched  against  the  man  who  has 
the  honoured  distinction  of  wearing  the  twofold  string 
or  sacred  cord  of  the  twice  bom,  and  which  was  in- 
herited, and  not  acquired  by  merit. 

Hinduism  denies  in  teaching  and  practice  the  noble 
sentiment  expressed  by  Pope  in  his  "  Essay  on  Man  " : 

"  Honour  and  shame  from  no  condition  rise  ; 
Act  well  your  part,  there  all  the  honour  lies  ; 
Fortune  in  men  has  some  small  difference  made ; 
Worth  makes  the  man,  and  want  of  it  the  fellow ; 
The  rest  is  all  but  leather  or  prunello 
Stuck  o'er  with  titles,  and  hung  round  with 

strings ; 
Go  if  your  ancient  but  ignoble  blood 
B^  crept  throught  scoundrels  eversince  the  flood. 
An  honest  man's  the  noblest  work  of  God." 


Although  the  Brahmans  aggregate  but  fifteen  mil- 
lions of  the  vast  Hindu  population  of  two  hundred  and 
seventeen  millions,  they  are  thoroughly  mastered  by 
the  sense  of  their  superiority  over  all  others  and  have 
no  consideration  for  the  low  castes  and  outcastes,  al- 
though millions  of  these  faithful  toilers  may  be  engaged 
in  the  most  important  and  necessary  occupations,  such 
as  weavers,  leather  workers  and  scavengers,  as  well  as 
the  blacksmiths,  carpenters  and  farmers. 

Strictly  speaking,  the  caste  system,  socially  and 
religiously,  may  be  regarded  as  a  close  corporation  and 
governed  by  inflexible  laws  that  hitherto  bound  them 


1 78  The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

to  the  strict  observance  of  hereditary  marriage  alli- 
ances, and  the  prescribed  rules  pertaining  to  the  prep- 
aration and  eating  of  certain  food,  although  the  latter 
under  special  circumstances  is  often  modified  through 
the  influence  of  Western  education  and  civilization. 
Nevertheless,  "  Caste  like  some  hideous  spectre  haunts 
every  grade  of  Indian  society  and  awes  every  individual 
of  each  grade.  The  squalid  wretch  that  ekes  out  a  bare 
subsistence  on  rice  and  water  ia  as  much  afraid  of  it  as 
the  wealthy  Brahman.  Neither  intelligence  nor  char- 
acter seems  any  defense." ' 

All  have  been  enslaved  by  its  dreaded  power  and 
fear  the  anathemas  of  this  monstrous  tyranny.  One  of 
the  strange  features  connected  with  caste  is  that  all 
classes,  even  of  the  lowesi.  and  most  depressed,  calmly 
submit  to  it  as  though  they  believed  that  they  were  ir- 
revocably destined  by  fate  for  this  degraded  state,  and 
hence  through  the  centuries  there  has  been  no  revolt 
nor  strike  for  freedom.  It  shows  the  supreme  power 
of  an  undisturbed  religious  belief,  for  the  history  of 
caste  is  an  amazing  illustration  of  the  countless  multi- 
tudes submitting  to  grievous  wrongs  imposed  by  the 
small  minority  for  centuries. 

Whilst  the  various  castes  have  claimed  to  have  a 
traditional  occupation,  and  the  descendants  of  the 
priests  became  priests,  and  the  sons  of  potters  became 
potters,  and  so  through  the  entire  category  of  pursuits, 
there  have  been  some  radical  changes  in  recent  years 
due  to  education  and  the  introduction  of  new  industrial 
pursuits  in  connection  with  changed  conditions  of 
modern  civilization,  and  especially  the  government's  re- 
fusal to  recognize  any  distinctions  of  caste,  but  to  select 
■  W.  Baja  Kaida. 


Caste 


179 


all  oflBcials  and  workmen  according  to  their  qualificar 
tions  alone,  and  without  any  reference  to  their  partic- 
ular caste.  Once  these  caste  lines  were  so  clearly 
defined  and  observed  that  there  was  even  an  hereditary 
criminal  class,  and  which  was  only  open  to  those  whose 
ancestors  had  been  associated  with  its  distinguished  or 
notorious  members.  But  all  this  has  been  revolution- 
ized by  the  tempting  offers  of  the  government  for  the 
fittest  employees  irrespective  of  their  caste  and  heredi- 
tary functional  occupation. 

In  certain  instances  in  Bengal,  according  to  a  recent 
census,  less  than  twenty-five  per  cent,  followed  the 
traditional  occupation,  and  in  some  cases  even  much 
less,  and  scarcely  one  in  six  of  the  Brahmans  entered  the 
priesthood,  although  all  the  priests  are  Brahmans. 
Not  only  are  there  frequent  departures  from  the 
ancestral  trade  but  even  new  ones  are  formed,  and  Mr. 
Risley  in  the  "Census  Reports"  mentions  a  rather 
unique  example  of  this  class,  known  as  the  hail-averter, 
and  organized  as  a  shrewd  corporation  that  found 
profitable  employment  among  the  unsophisticated 
farmers  whose  crops  had  suffered  from  the  destructive 
agency  of  the  hail.  Unfortunately  for  the  unscrupulous 
promoters  there  was  an  unusual  season,  when  hail- 
storms became  an  epidemic  of  prolonged  duration,  and 
the  farmers  became  skeptical  and  withdrew  their 
patronage ;  as  a  consequence  the  hail-averters  became 
bankrupt  and  ceased  to  exist  as  a  caste. 

The  lines  of  distinction  are  often  so  firmly  drawn  be- 
tween the  various  castes  that  it  may  become  very  em- 
barrassing for  those  who  employ  servants,  and  we  had 
an  experience  the  day  we  visited  a  rock  hewn  tempi  3 
some  miles  beyond  Mangalgheri.    The  night  previous 


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i    '   l 


180  The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

we  drove  to  a  bungalow,  and  arranged  for  an  early 
start  next  morning.  We  were  up  before  the  sun  and 
had  our  breakfast  at  the  appointed  hour,  for  we  had  a 
long  day's  work  before  us,  and  as  the  driver  did  not  ap- 
pear with  the  horses  we  grew  impatient.  For  some 
reason  that  servant  was  missing  and  we  appealed  to  the 
cook  and  waiter  to  help  us  in  our  dilemma,  but  these 
servants,  though  poor  as  beggars,  absolutely  refused  to 
assist  us  in  doing  anything  that  did  not  belong  to  their 
caste,  and  we  lost  more  than  an  hour  in  wrangling  and 
waiting  until  another  servant  could  be  secured  to  care 
for  the  horses. 

One  of  the  noblest  missionaries,  Dr.  Harpster,  con- 
cluded that  he  had  at  least  conquered  the  spu-it  of  caste 
among  the  trusty  servants  in  his  own  home,  owing  to 
his  personal  influence  among  them  for  so  many  years ; 
but  he  had  presumed  too  much,  as  I  learned  from  one 
of  his  embarrassing  experiences.  He  was  at  the  head 
of  the  great  missionary  work  in  Guntur,  and  during  one 
of  the  commencements  of  that  college  he  had  a  special 
dinner  prepared  for  the  resident  missionaries,  and  also 
for  those  native  graduates  who  were  about  to  enter  the 
ministry.  At  the  appointed  time  the  feast  was  ready 
and  all  the  invited  guests  were  seated  about  the  table 
in  American  fashion,  though  differing  in  dress  and  com- 
plexion. There  had  been  no  delay  on  this  occasion,  for 
the  feast  was  inviting  and  there  was  enough  and  to 
spare. 

For  some  of  those  natives  it  was  a  red  letter  day,  and 
the  feast  of  a  lifetime.  There  was  no  anxiety  among 
the  host  and  hostess,  nor  among  the  guests.  The  great 
soul  of  Dr.  Harpster  overflowed  with  joy  and  grati- 
tude as  he  beheld  at  last  an  illustration  in  India  of  the 


Caste 


181 


exemplification  of  the  doctrine  of  the  Fatherhood  of 
God  and  the  brotherhood  of  man,  and  he  gave  pro- 
found thanks,  for  here  were  representatives  of  various 
castes,  not  from  the  Brahman  or  highest,  but  from  the 
respectable  Sudra  down  to  the  lower  and  even  out- 
castes,  who  had  been  elevated  through  Christian  educa- 
tion to  become  the  sons  of  God  and  brethren  in  Christ 

Jesus. 

It  was  an  auspicious  event  that  seemed  to  forecast  the 
approach  of  the  millennium  for  the  millions  that  had  so 
long    been   doomed   by  the   caste  system,  and  Dr. 
Harpster  was  elevated  with  the  visions  of  the  coming 
kingdom.    lie  occupied  the  head  of  the  table  and  re- 
joiced in  that  happy  family,  for  he  had  no  misgivings. 
The  dinner  was  to  be  given  in  courses  and  the  waiters 
began  to  serve  the  soup,  but  not  to  each  one  of  the 
guests,  for  there  were  among  the  Panchamas  a  few 
from  the  Pariah  outcastes  and  some  degrees  in  the 
social  scale  below  the  servants.    That  concession  was 
too  much  even  for  the  waiters,  and  they  stood  upon 
their  dignity.      Dr.  Harpster  was   too   optimistic  on 
this  occasion  to  suspect  its  seriousness  and  he  beckoned 
to  the  waiters  to  serve  the  rest,  thinking  that  they  had 
been  unintentionally  overlooked.      The  waiters  eyed 
one  another  but  refused  to  serve  the  untouchables  even 
though  they  had  been  educated  in  the  Lutheran  Quntur 
College  and  recently  elevated  to  the  Christian  ministry. 

Then  Dr.  Harpster  realized  the  embarrassing  situa- 
tion and  he  remonstrated  and  appealed  to  what  Chris- 
tianity had  done  for  them  and  their  people,  but  they 
stood  firm  by  their  antecedents.  His  patience  became 
exhausted  and  fired  with  indignation  because  of  their 
disobedience   and   disrespect   shown   to   his   invited 


m 

w 


a 


1" 


h 


It. 


I 
I 


182   The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

guests,  he  arose  and  with  hia  Webstoriun  attitude  com- 
manded them  to  go  to  the  kitchen  at  onco  and  serve 
all  the  gueste  henceforth  without  any  mvidious  dis- 
crimination.   They  eyed  liim  intently  and  shook  their 
heads,  for  they  would  serve  no  outcaste,  contrary  to 
their  religious  customs,  and  when  he  threatened  they 
eyed  one  another  with  a  significant  look  for  a  moment, 
and  then  they  rushed  out  of  the  house,  across  the  lawn 
and   disapp^red  for  that  day.     Dr.  Harpster  wa« 
chagrined  for  he  had  been  outwitted  in  presuming  so 
much  upon  this  happy  love  feast  with  the  various  social 
groups ;  for  the  kingdom  had  not  yet  come  to  his  serv- 
ants, and  the  guests  had  to  serve  themselves,  for  even 
his  most  trusty  8er%'ant  of  many  years  joined  the  caste 
strikers. 

In  America  we  rejoice  in  the  complex  and  demo- 
cratic character  of  our  public  assemblies  and  banquets, 
for  they  are  most  cosmopolitan,  and  the  doctrine  of  the 
Fatherhood  of  God  and  the  brotherhood  of  man  is 
illustrated  in  a  practical  manner.    In  fact  it  has  been 
realized  in  a  preeminent  degree  in  our  country  where 
as  many  as  1,100,000  emigrants  from  various  parts  of 
the  earth  have  been  bnded  upon  our  shores  within  a 
single  year.    We  welcome  them,  associate  with  them, 
educate  them,  and  make  them  worthy  citizens  by  shar- 
ing with  them  the  advantages  of  our  best  institutions, 
and  as  many  as  twenty-six  distinct  nations  have  been 
represented  in  one  of  our  public  schools  in  the  city  of 
New  York  at  one  time.    Thus  we  exercise  a  tremen- 
dous assimilating  power  over  them  and  their  children, 
and  soon  they  cease  to  be  known  as  English,  German, 
French,  Scandinavian,  Irish  or  Italian ;  for  by  this  uni- 
versal process  of  assimilation  we  transform  them  all 


ril 


Caste 


«83 


into  American  citizens  like  ourselves  and  hence  the 
foreign  names  alone  survive  to  remind  us  of  foreign 
origin  and  which  are  seen  among  the  leading  manu- 
facturers,  merchants,  bankers,  statesmen,  educators,  as 
well  as  the  various  prufossiuns ;  for  all  these  places  of 
usefulness  and  influence  are  open  to  them. 

This  assimilation  and  recognition  of  the  brotherhood 
of  man  becomes  even  more  thoroughly  effected  through 
intermarriage  with  the  various  Indo-European  races, 
for  we  all  come  from  a  common  stock  of  ancestors. 
We  all  are  familiar  with  the  saying,  "  Scratch  a  Rus- 
sian and  you  will  find  a  Tartar,"  but  whilst  that  is  only 
partially  true  and  in  a  very  limited  sense,  we  may  say 
in  truth  and  without  any  qualification,  "  Scratch  an 
American  and  you  will  find  a  European — German, 
Scandinavian,  Englishman,  etc.,"  and  if  you  probe  deep 
enough  you  will  find  our  remote  ancestors  among 
the  Indo-Europeans ;  hence  we  should  unite  in  this 
common  bond  of  brotherhood,  and  to  which  also  the 
Aryan  firahmans  belong  as  the  lineal  descendants  of 
the  same  ancient  stock,  although  in  the  absence  of  the 
historical  and  philological  sense  they  have  become  so 
completely  self-centred  in  their  ethnological  vision  as 
to  recognize  no  affinity  with  any  other  people. 

Try  to  imagine  what  the  condition  of  America 
would  be  had  our  ancestors  tyrannized  the  political,  ed- 
ucational, religious  and  social  history  of  our  country 
with  the  caste  system.  Then  the  names  of  many  of  our 
eminent  Presidents  would  never  have  found  a  place  in 
our  American  history,  and  there  would  have  been  no 
Lincoln,  Grant,  Garfield  and  McKinley.  Most  of  the 
greatest  statesmen,  educators,  inventors,  reformers, 
public-spirited  men  and  benefactors  would  have  re- 


jiI:'U 


u 


184   The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

mained  in  obscurity  and  with  undeveloped  powers  for 
good ;  for  by  the  immutable  law  of  caste  each  man 
would  have  been  destined  to  follow  the  hereditary  00- 
cupation,  and  aU  personal  ambition,  individual  traits 
and  resources  would  have  been  paralyzed  and  the 
greatest  possibilities  would  have  been  prevented  by  not 
allowing  them  to  nmture. 

We  can  only  estimate  the  loss  by  recalling  a  few 
names  of  those  who  rose  from  obscurity  to  places  of 
eminence  in  the  world.     Because  some  were  bom  in 
the   plebeian   state   as  a   shoemaker,  blacksmith   or 
labourer  in  the  factory,  that  did  not  prevent  them 
from  rising  to  positions  of  preeminent  influence  and 
honour  as  the  familiar  names  of  Carey,  Elihu  Burritt 
and  Livingstone  demonstrate ;  and  the  names  of  hun- 
dreds of  others  in  England  and  America  might  be  men- 
tioned, including  Lincoln,  Grant  and  McKinley  who 
rose  from  a  lowly  birth  to  positions  of  the  highest  emi- 
nence, and  received  from  their  nation  undying  fame 
and  a  proud  immortality.    The  magnificent  monuments 
erected  by  a  grateful  people  testify  not  only  to  the  es- 
teem in  which  they  vr&re  held,  but  show  the  possibili- 
ties of  young  men,  when  bom  free  and  untrammelled 
by  the  fetters  of  caste.    Little  did  Livingstone  think 
the  day  he  strolled  into  Westminster  Abbey  as  a  mis- 
sionary, and  looked  upon  the  monuments  of  the  mighty, 
that  the  day  would  come  when,  after  a  life  of  self-sacri- 
fice in  battling  against  the  terrible  evils  of  the  slave 
trade  in  Africa,  England  would  bestow  upon  him  the 
(distinguished  honour  of  laying  his  mortal  remains  at 
rest  among  the  kings,  statesmen  and  great  heroes  of 
her  country  in  that  famous  Abbey. 
We  know  what  disastrous  bankruptcy  of  human 


Caste 


185 


aohievemeat  would  have  befallen  our  own  country  bad 
its  foonden  brought  the  inexorable  law  of  caste,  with 
it*  unmitigated  evils,  with  them  as  it  prevails  in  Hin- 
duism throughout  India.  Then  there  would  have  been 
stagnation,  for  all  progress  and  brotherhood  would  have 
been  throttled  by  the  relentless  grasp  of  that  inhuman 
evil  that  for  so  many  years  has  been  the  curse  of  man- 
kind in  India.  Then  Edison,  the  modem  wizard  of  the 
most  beneficent  discoveries,  would  have  been  confined 
to  his  inherited  occupation,  and  doomed  to  a  life  of  ig- 
norance and  poverty,  with  undeveloped  inherent 
powers,  and  aU  the  world  would  have  been  much 
poorer. 

It  is  difficult  for  us  to  realize  the  situation  of  the 
caste  system  in  India,  for  accustomed  to  our  Western 
ideas  and  democratic  fellowship  with  society  ,.  '  is 
composed  of  a  variety  of  members,  we  are  not  she  .iced 
when  a  young  man  from  lowly  and  obscure  parentage 
rises  by  his  inherent  worth  and  marries  in  a  family  of 
prominent  social  standings,  and  there  is  no  feeling  of 
disgrace  and  no  public  ostracism.  Often  there  are 
great  diflferences  in  nationality  and  social  antecedents, 
but  other  compensations  of  character,  culture  and 
standing  are  recoguized,  and  congratulations  are  freely 
bestowed.  There  is  no  upheaval  of  society,  no  persecu- 
tion, but  a  happy  home  has  been  formed  and  in  which 
all  rejoice. 

In  Hinduism  such  a  state  of  union  is  forbidden.  The 
parents  make  the  marriages,  and  strictly  within  their 
own  caste,  for  any  transgression  of  that  law  would 
mean  bitter  persecution,  and  the  entire  family  would  be 
involved  in  the  disgrace.  The  matter  is  all  the  more 
serious  in  Hinduism  where  every  woman  is  supposed  to 


i      t 


186   The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

be  married  at  an  early  age,  and  where  it  is  regarded  as 
a  disgrace  not  to  be  married. 

An  incident  from  the  well-known  Woman's  Hospital 
at  Guntur  will  illustrate  the  situation.  It  was  at  a  re- 
ligious service  held  in  the  court  of  the  hospital  on  a 
Sunday  morning  that  I  met  an  interesting  member  of  a 
higher  caste,  whose  wife  had  just  recovered  from  what 
his  friends  and  native  doctors  in  his  village  had  re- 
garded 83  an  incurable  disease,  and  on  the  following 
day  would  return  home.  The  husband  was  a  man  of 
culture,  and  as  he  loved  his  wife,  his  heart  was  filled 
with  gratitude  towards  the  medical  missionaries,  and 
he  freely  expressed  himself.  He  also  declared  that  he 
believed  in  Christ  and  the  Gospel  and  that  he  no  longer 
believed  in  Hinduism,  and  that  he  would  be  baptized 
but  dared  not,  for  that  meant  to  break  caste. 

He  and  his  wife  would  be  ^villing  to  make  the  sacri- 
fice and  suffer  all  that  it  involved,  but  he  said ;  "  What 
would  become  of  my  daughters  ?  Whom  will  they 
marry  ? "  That  was  a  very  serious  question  in  that 
country  where  it  was  considered  as  a  disgrace  for  a 
woman  not  to  be  married.  But  where  he  lived  there 
were  no  Christians  of  his  caste,  but  only  of  the  out- 
castes,  and  he  could  not  marry  his  daughters  \o  that 
ignorant,  poor  and  degraded  class,  and  neither  would 
we  favour  such  a  shocking  alliance,  for  after  baptism 
the  father  and  mother  with  their  children  would  be 
treated  as  outcastes,  they  would  be  ostracized  by  their 
own  caste,  and  none  of  the  sons  of  their  caste  would 
marry  the  daughters,  and  amid  such  persecutions  their 
condition  and  outlook  for  the  future  would  be  too  de- 
plorable for  the  father  openly  to  follow  his  religious 
convictions.    Those  who  condemn  him  may  ask  them- 


4 

•4,. 


if .,  i 


Caste  187 

selves  whether  they  would  be  willing  to  make  such  a 
personal  sacrifice  by  marrying  their  daughters  to  an 
actually  degraded  people. 

Stanley  Rice,  who  for  nineteen  years  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Civil  Service  in  India,  and  who  had  ample 
opportunity  for  observation,  writing  of  the  respect- 
able character  of  the  Sudras  of  Northern  India,  who 
are  as  much  superior  to  the  Panchamas  as  the  Prah- 
mans  are  to  them,  reminds  us  that  it  is  difficult  for  us 
to  appreciate  the  disabilities  under  which  the  Sudra  is 
placed  who  contemplates  the  acceptance  of  Christian- 
ity;  for  in  the  vast  majority  of  cases  it  means  to 
identify  him  with  the  lowest  or  Pariah  class,  and  that 
social  stigma  and  ostracism  is  too  great  a  sacrifice  for 
many  caste  men  to  make.    He  states  that  "  caste  is  es- 
sentially a  social  distinction  with  a  religious  sanction." 
To  lose  caste  subjects  him  to  persecution,  and  the 
denial  of  religious  rights,  and  also  ordinary  comforts, 
for  "the  barber  will  decline  to  shave  him,  the  washer- 
maa  will  not  wash  his  clothes,  his  quondam  friends  will 
refuse  him  fire  and  water,  and  he  may  be  in  straits  to 
get  food  itself."    "The  Pariah  lives  in  almost  incon- 
ceivable squalor,  in  the  most  superstitious  ignorance, 
and  in  a  condition  of  morality  that  hardly  bears  inves- 
tigation.   There  is  a  marked  difference  between  the 
mode  of  life  of  a  Christian  and  a  Hindu  Pariah.    Habits 
of  clean-Uvers,  of  truth,  of  thrift  are  engendered,  and 
missionary  effort  in  this  respect  is  certainly  justified  of 
her   children."    "Caste    is  dearer  than  ethics,  than 
wealth,  than  anything  short  of  life." 

J.  A.  Sharrock,  a  missionary  for  twenty-seven  years 
in  Sonthem  India,  declares  that  whilst  the  Church  con- 
demns the  spirit  of  caste  and  prejwhes  against  it,  they 


■i    f^ 


.ill 
■  •a 

■?!< 


188  The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

tolerate  it,  and  the  converts  practice  it.  He  refers  to 
a  certain  occasion  when  he  allowed  a  Pariah  man  and 
his  family,  whom  he  had  baptized,  to  sit  with  the  others 
in  the  church,  but  the  native  Christians  remonstrated 
with  great  demonstration  and  threatened  to  leave  the 
building.  Then  he  went  to  the  door  and  bolted  it  to 
prevent  their  escape  from  the  church,  but  the  incensed 
members  overpowered  him,  and  the  three  hundred 
forced  their  way  out,  for  their  conversion  to  Christian- 
ity did  not  change  their  convictions  as  to  caste  nor  re- 
move their  prejudices  against  associating  even  in  the 
church  with  the  Pariah  outcaste.  The  c  •  vi^e  of  caste 
has  been  the  greatest  foe  and  barrier  against  the  prog- 
ress of  Christianity,  and  yet  it  has  triumphed,  and  I 
am  persuaded  that  there  are  thousands  of  silent  Chris- 
tian believers  among  the  better  class  of  Hindus,  but 
who  feel  that  they  cannot  afford  to  make  the  necessary 
sacrifice  of  social  ostracism  and  persecution. 

In  the  Guntur  Mission  I  spoke  with  a  Brahman 
whose  wife  and  children  abandoned  him  when  he  be- 
came a  convert ;  it  was  some  years  before  a  reconcilia- 
tion was  effected  through  their  own  conversion.  Few 
men  are  ready  to  make  such  sacrifices,  and  should  they 
be  encouraged  ?  It  is  easy  to  say  that  the  Hindu 
should,  but  would  you  do  it  ?  This  is  one  of  the  seri- 
ous domestic  problems  that  the  missionaries  encounter, 
and  it  is  the  greatest  barrier  to  their  work.  The  man 
ostracized  by  his  caste  is  in  a  deplorable  and  almost 
helpless  condition,  for  socially  he  becomes  a  nonde- 
script, and  where  shall  he  find  his  social  level  ?  Strange 
as  it  may  seem  there  is  a  terrible  truth  in  the  saying 
that  in  the  Hindu  system  of  caste  it  is  as  "  impossible 
to  fall  downwards  as  it  is  to  fall  upwards,"  and  no 


:il! 


Caste 


189 


wonder  that  men  hesitate  and  count  the  cost  before 
breaking  with  their  own  caste. 

As  an  illustration  of  the  persistency  of  caste  in  a 
country  where  it  is  dearer  than  "  ethics,  wealth "  or 
any  human  possession,  and  where  the  difference  be- 
tween theory  and  practice,  even  among  Christians,  is 
clearly  in  evidence,  I  submit  the  following  protest  that 
appeared  in  a  recent  issue  of  the  Christian  Patriot, 
published  in  Madras,  and  without  any  dissent  or  com- 
ment from  the  editor. 

«  The  Middle  Wa^'  of  Partition. 

•'  Sib  : 

"  I  regret  to  inform  vou  that  at  a  recent  mission 

Erize  giving  a  rather  painful  distinction  was  observed 
etween  the  Indian  and  the  foreign  guests  who  had 
been  invited.  On  arrival  all  were  received  at  the  same 
entrance  and  led  through  the  same  passage  and  then 
suddenly  turned  into  distinct  places  set  apart  for  white 
and  black  (the  sheep  and  goats). 

"  I  thought  that  in  Christian  circles,  at  least,  race  dis- 
tinction among  specially  invited  guests  would  not  be 
so  rigidly  observed. 

"  I  trust  that  the  better  spirited  Christians  in  the 
West  will  take  pains  to  notice  not  so  much  what  their 
agents  out  here  print  and  publish  but  rather  what  they 
practice  in  actual  life,  as  regards  those  whom  they 
speak  of  as  their  Indian  *  brothers  and  sisters.' 

"A  Black  Guest." 

That  is  the  practical  situation,  which  is  likely  to 
continue  for  many  years  to  come.  We  can  hardly  con- 
demn it,  and  disallow  the  proud  Aryan  in  India  the 
exercise  of  the  same  inherent  convictions  that  we  hold 
to  be  our  right  in  discriminating  between  the  rank  of 
people  with  whom  we  associate.    We  claim  this  liberty, 


« 


m. 


iil 


15 


1 
i 

■I 
■1 


190   The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

and  we  not  only  have  drawn  a  colour  line,  but  even  in- 
stituted the  "  Jim  Crow  "  cars  in  some  states,  so  that 
the  whites  may  not  suffer  the  blacks  to  ride  in  the  same 
coach.    Whilst  we  have  removed  many  disabilities  from 
the  coloured  race  and  given  them  protection,  teachers 
and  education  so  that  they  have  been  elevated  and 
fitted  for  honoured  places  of  usefulness,  nevertheless 
that  colour  line  is  instinctive  in  the  minds  of  all,  and 
any  suggestion  of  a  possible  union  of  the  races  by  an 
amalgamation  through  miscegenation  would  be  met 
with  universal  abhorrence,  not  only  by  the  American 
people  but  by  all  the  white  races.    We  want  to  co- 
operate with  them  in  every  possible  manner  by  which 
their  highest  welfare  may  be  attained,  but  we  have  an 
innate  and  inexorable  conviction  against  intermarriage, 
and  any  violation  of  this  innate  and  inflexible  law 
through  the  forbidden  marriage  of  those  who  should 
not  be  joined  together  meets  with  universal  condenana- 
tion  and  disgust.    The  degenerate  violators  commit  a 
crime  against  society  as  well  e".  against  their  own 
pitiable  offspring. 

I  am  convinced  that  too  much  emphasis  has  at  times 
been  placed  upon  the  duty  of  intermarriage  between 
the  high  and  low  castes  in  India,  as  though  such  hu- 
miliation, and  in  some  cases  degradation,  were  regarded 
as  a  cardinal  virtue  and  duty  of  Christianity.  In  many 
instances  there  is  a  vast  difference  that  is  not  artificial 
but  most  real  between  high  castes  and  outcastc*i,  and 
who  would  have  his  own  daughter  make  the  descent  ? 
The  descendants  of  future  generations  will  rise  under 
Christian  influences  and  the  great  social  chasm  will 
become  closed  in  time,  and  ther  the  situation  will  be 
changed,  but  the  Panchamas  must  first  become  the  equals 


Caste 


191 


] 


of  the  higher  castes  in  respectable  habits,  moral  charac- 
ter and  culture,  and  I  am  speaking  of  present  conditions 
as  they  are,  and  not  as  we  may  idealize  or  wish  they 
were.    I  could  appreciate  the  justifiable  feelings  of 
the  father  I  met  at  the  Woman's  Hospital  in  Ountur 
as  he  expressed  the  grave  difficulties  in  his  way  to  make 
a  public  acceptance  of  Christianity  by  being  baptized, 
for  that  would  have  doomed  his  daughters  to  marriage 
with  a  despised  and  low  people  in  his  village,  if  they 
married  at  all ;  and  a  woman  of  refinement  would  rather 
a  thousand  times  live  and  die  an  old  maid  than  to  de- 
scend to  such  social  depths  as  exist  among  miUions  of 
the  lowest  of  the  Panchamas.    Of  course  I  do  not  in- 
clude in  this  u  ..  '.voury  category  the  many  millions  of 
that  elevated  and  highly  respectable  class  of  Sudras, 
who  were  originally  under  the  ban  of  the  Brahmans, 
but  who  are  now  often  competing  successfully  for  the 
highest   positions   of   culture,  wealth,  influence  and 
honour  among  the  leaders  and  best  men  of  India. 

Our  social  ideas  with  reference  to  the  survival  of  the 
fittest,  and  that  God  is  no  respecter  of  persons,  would 
strike  the  Brahman  class  as  a  preposterous  heresy. 
Were  he  to  study  the  political  history  of  our  country 
he  would  be  astounded  to  learn  that  a  boy  without  any 
distinguished  ancestors,  and  bom  of  very  poor,  obscure 
and  unlettered  parents,  amid  the  most  adverse  circum- 
stances, in  a  very  humble  cottage  in  the  wild  wilder- 
ness, remote  from  all  refining,  elevating,  social  and 
educational  advantages,  was  able  by  his  own  moral 
force  and  virtue,  in  spite  of  all  the  unfavourable  ante- 
cedents and  environment,  to  rise  to  the  very  pinnacle 
of  national  fame  and  lasting  honour. 

The  Brahman  would  be  amazed  at  such  a  story  and 


m' 


li 
I 


192    The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

would  be  unable  to  comprehend  the  possibility  of  such 
a  rise  from  social  obscurity  to  the  highest  position  of 
responsibility  and  honour  in  the  gift  of  the  American 
people,  and  wholly  because  of  his  moral  worth  and  the 
development  and  exercise  of  his  personal  powers.  And 
yet  the  poor  boy  became  the  noble  Abraham  Lincoln, 
known  and  honoured  throughout  the  world  as  one  of 
God's  chief  noblemen.  There  is  much  truth  in  the 
lines  of  J.  A.  Edgerton : 

*'  When  Lincoln  died,  a  type  was  lost  to  men. 
The  earth  has  had  her  conquerors  and  kings. 
And  many  of  the  common  great,  through  all ; 
She  only  had  one  Lincoln.    There  are  none 
Like  him  in  all  the  annals  of  the  past 
He  was  the  growth  of  our  new  soil ;  the  child 
Of  our  new  time ;  he  was  American  ; 
Was  of  the  people,  from  the  lowest  rank ; 
And  yet  he  scaled  with  ease  the  highest  height 
Mankind  one  of  its  few  immortals  lost 
When  Lincoln  died. 
He  led  a  splendid  fight  for  liberty. 
And  when  the  shackles  fell,  the  land  was  saved, 
He  laid  his  armour  by  and  sought  his  rest." 

There  is  unreasonableness  as  well  as  injustice  in  the 
system  of  caste.  Whilst  we  are  not  indifferent  as 
to  remote  antecedents,  we  are  not  so  seriously  con- 
cerned to  know  who  a  man's  great-grandfather  was 
as  to  know  who  the  man  himself  may  be,  and  by  his 
personal  character  and  fitness  judge  and  accept  him. 
If  he  is  lacking  in  culture  and  moral  character,  the 
virtues  of  distinguished  ancestors  cannot  atone  for  his 
personal  delinquencies,  for  it  is  not  birth  that  gives  man 
his  station,  but  the  development  of  personal  virtues. 
But  with  the  Hindu  all  this  is  reversed.    No  matter 


Caste 


>93 


who  the  man  may  be,  how  cultured  and  noble  his 
character,  what  virtues  or  vices  he  may  possess,  how 
capable  or  how  stupid  he  may  be — these  do  not  neces- 
sarily determine  his  station  of  honour  or  dishonour  in 
society  but  who  were  his  ancestors,  and  not  merely  the 
immediate,  but  even  the  remote  ones.  A  man  is  seri- 
ously handicapped  by  the  fatalism  of  such  an  unjust 
law  in  making  him  responsible  for  all  his  ancestors, 
whatever  crimes  they  may  have  committed,  and  by 
whom  it  was  determined  that  the  man  should  be  bom 
in  a  certain  social  group  of  low  castes  or  possible  out- 
castes. 

No  wonder  that  for  centuries  stagnation  character- 
ized the  social  and  industrial  condition  of  India,  for 
there  was  no  stimulus  for  development,  no  incentive 
for  the  young  men  with  minds  to  become  hopeful  and 
ambitious  for  advancement  and  success  in  society  and 
the  state.  No  new  avenues  were  opened  to  them  but 
all  closed  by  caste,  and  their  future  destiny  was  confined 
to  the  treadmill  routine  of  the  hereditary  occupation 
and  which  was  fixed  at  birth  by  their  father's  station. 
There  was  no  freedom  of  choice  in  the  struggle  of  life, 
no  opportunity  for  developing  the  mind  and  personal 
gifts  by  the  exercise  of  will  power  in  devising  improved 
conditions;  for  fate  had  mapped  out  their  earthly 
career  the  day  they  were  bom,  and  they  dared  not 
deviate  from  the  record. 

An  observing  traveller  in  India  will  often  be  im- 
pressed with  the  deplorable  condition  of  the  depressed 
classes  and  the  wide  breach  that  separates  them  from 
the  Brahman  aristocracy.  This  was  forcibly  brought 
to  mind  the  day  that  a  college  professor  in  Conjeverim 
accompanied  me  to  one  of  the  celebrated  temples,  for 


Hi.! 

SIP' 


194  The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

whilst  he  waa  an  intellectual  and  influential  man  in 
that  city,  he  was  not  permitted  to  cross  the  threshold 
of  the  temple  because  he  waa  a  Tamil,  and  not  having 
been  bom  of  a  higher  caste;  and  while  he  was  in 
no  way  responsible,  but  made  the  most  of  his  life,  he 
was  excluded,  although  the  lowest  Brahman  beg- 
gars, monkeys,  goats,  cows  and  bulls  were  freely  ad 

mitted. 

I  reasoned  with  the  priest  and  remonstrated  agamst 
their  irrational  conduct  in  making  such  an  invidious 
and  udiuman  distinction  that  I  supposed  the  local  pro- 
fessor felt  most  keenly.  They  had  no  reason  to  offer 
in  defense,  but  excused  their  action  by  referring  it  to  « 
the  god  of  custom,  and  which  is  the  highest  court  of 
appeal  in  Hinduism  and  recognizes  no  modem  reason- 
ing. However,  the  humble  professor  was  not  so  sensi- 
tive as  I  imagined,  for  he  had  been  reared  under  the 
caste  system,  and  had  inherited  the  spirit  of  submis- 
sion to  the  upper  classes,  and  never  counted  the  cost 
but  yielded  as  a  matter  of  course. 

We  had  an  interesting  illustration  of  the  power  tha.t 
caste  exercises  over  the  mind  and  conduct  of  the  indi- 
vidual the  day  that  we  drove  from  Delhi  to  Ktub 
Minar  to  see  the  famous  column  and  ruins  of  that 
ancieut  site.    Our  driver  was  poor  as  the  men  who 
follow  his  lowly  occupation,  and  he  was  not  well  fed 
nor  well  groomed.    His  meagre  income  did  not  permit 
him  to  enjoy  anything  beyond  the  bare  necessities  of 
life,  the  plainest  food  and  clothing,  and  his  limited  re- 
sources were  apparent  in  the  quality  and  extent  of  his 
simple  wardrobe,  for  it  was  lacking  at  both  ends  and 
mostly  confined  to  his  loins.    He  had  a  sad  and  hungry 
look  that  excited  my  sympathy,  and  I  resolved  to  make 


j-"^ 


Caste 


«95 


it  an  unusually  happy  day  for  him,  and  that  once  at 
least  he  should  have  enough  to  eat,  and  if  possible  the 
beet  and  most  bountiful  meal  of  his  life. 

As  the  drive  was  a  long  one  the  hotel  provided  our 
luncheon  and  I  arranged  with  the  head  waiter  to  put 
in  a  liberal  supply,  for  I  wanted  the  driver  to  have  a 
feast  that  day,  and  such  as  would  gladden  his  heart  as 
well  as  satisfy  his  hunger.  The  drive  was  one  of  un- 
usual interest  and  we  visited  several  historic  places  on 
the  way.  After  the  noon  hour,  we  selected  a  place  in 
the  shade  of  the  ruins  and  sat  down  for  our  tiffin,  but 
having  a  thought  for  the  inbred  religious  scruples  of 
the  Hindus,  and  which  especially  dominate  their  table 
etiquette,  I  avoided  all  possible  offense  by  handing  to 
him  the  major  portion  of  that  choice  luncheon  before 
we  tasted  a  morsel. 

I  expected  to  see  a  wonderful  transformation  in  the 
expression  of  that  sad  face,  and  I  thought  that  for  the 
time  being  he  would  be  one  of  the  happiest  men  in 
India,  for  I  had  no  thought  of  the  demon  of  caste  so 
controlling  this  humble  and  hungry  mortal  that  he 
would  not  be  able  to  enjoy  the  feast  prepared,  and 
which  we  relished.  I  am  confident  that  he  had  never 
enjoyed  such  an  excellent  meal  and  I  w^as  prepared  for  a 
happy  smile  of  gratitude,  with  much  bowing,  but  imag- 
ine my  disappointment  at  hip  stolid  indifference,  for  in- 
stead of  joyfully  accepting  that  feast  with  thanksgiv- 
ing, he  would  not  so  much  as  touch  the  tabooed  things, 
but  with  a  possibly  still  sadder  look,  bordering  on  de- 
spair, he  shrugged  his  shoulders  significantly  and  said : 
"  I  am  very  sorry,  sir,  but  my  caste  will  not  allow  me 
to  eat  it  "  He  did  not  intend  his  remark  as  any  re- 
flection upon  us,  and  he  added :  "  But  I  am  hungry 


m 


■   ! 


I* 
III-  <  ■- 


■I 


196  The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

and  I  will  thank  you  for  somo  money  that  I  may  buy 
some  bread  to  eat." 

I  gave  him  the  money,  for  I  understood  his  bondage 
and  how  the  tyranny  of  custom  had  fettered  him,  both 
mind  and  body,  so  that  he  could  not  do  otherwise,  and 
did  not  seem  morally  responsible  for  his  absurd  refusal 
of  the  food  that  I  offered  hun.  It  was  a  feast  com- 
pared with  what  he  bought  to  satisfy  his  hunger,  and 
I  pitied  him  as  I  saw  him  eating  that  frugal  meal, 
without  any  variety,  but  only  composed  of  the  plain 
black  and  dry  bread.  He  followed  his  religious  caste 
convictions,  although  at  the  sacrifice  of  gastronomical 

satiety. 

As  I  scanned  him  the  contrast  was  suggestive,  and  I 
thought  that  the  dominant  principle  for  one's  religion 
should  exist  somewhere  in  the  mind  and  heart,  and  not 
down  in  the  region  of  the  stomach.    His  ethical  code 
became  faulty  in  practice,  for  he  insisted  that  I  should 
give  him  an  extra  amount  of  money  to  secure  provision 
to  feed  the  horses  and  that  the  sum  which  he  stated 
was  absolutely  necessary,  for  he  had  brought  no  money 
with  him.    I  gave  him  the  required  rupees  as  requested, 
and  learned  later  that  he  had  deceived  me  and  with- 
held from  the  horses  the  full  quantity  to  satisfy  their 
hunger  by  retaining  one-half  the  money  given  him, 
but  his  religious  scruples  were  not  so  inflexible  with 
reference  to  the  practice  of  this  moral  code. 

Such  artificial  discriminations  that  the  caste  system 
enjoins  appeared  irrational  to  us,  and  productive  of 
much  evil,  for  they  are  based  upon  the  mere  accidents 
of  birth  and  not  personal  merit  and  the  character  and 
worth  of  the  individual  The  student  of  Hinduism  is 
impressed  with  its  phenomenal  coherence,  solidarity 


Caste 


«97 


and  dominant  power  for  so  many  oentnries,  and  in  con- 
trolling the  minds  and  lives  of  two  hundred  milliona  of 
followers  at  the  present  time.  The  amazing  feature  of 
this  fact  is,  that  whilst  it  is  so  strongly  intrenched  in 
the  hearts  of  the  people  and  has  shaped  their  destiny, 
all  this  has  been  effected  without  any  ecclesiastical 
head  corresponding  with  that  of  the  pope,  patriarch, 
or  ecumenical  council  or  synod.  This  is  without  a 
parallel  and  challenges  an  explanation. 

We  can  only  account  for  this  fact  by  referring  to  the 
unique  and  invincible  system  of  caste  that  controls  the 
many  divisions  of  the  separate  social  groups  into  which 
Hinduism  has  divided  itself,  for  the  various  members  of 
the  lowest  as  well  as  the  highest  groups  recognize  their 
identity  as  a  part  of  the  complicated  system,  and  sub- 
mit as  if  controlled  by  an  innate  law  of  conscience  that 
insists  upon  the  observance  of  caste,  no  matter  what  the 
cost  may  be.  No  doubt  Hinduism  owes  much  of  its 
tremendous  power  to  the  vitality  and  supremacy  of 
caste.  We  may  regard  its  sway  as  an  unmitigated 
evil,  especially  for  the  depressed  classes,  and  yet  they 
themselves  insist  upon  caste  observance. 

All  this  has  only  been  possible  in  virtue  of  the  pecul- 
iar  character  of  the  family  system  in  Hinduism,  and 
which  grows  somewhat  like  the  former  Oneida  Com- 
munity ;  for  when  the  sons  marry,  instead  of  going 
forth  with  the  bride  to  form  a  new  home  for  them- 
selves, they  bring  her  to  the  ancestral  home  where  the 
children,  parents,  grandparents  and  grea  grandparents 
all  live  together  and  the  old  man  holds  the  purse  and 
gives  the  orders,  and  receives  obedience  from  this  ever 
enlarging  social  and  domestic  corporation.  In  the 
strictest  sense  they  are  the  product  of  their  antecedents 


i 


\\ 


* 


rf   1 


198  The  God  Juggernaut  and  HinduUm  in  Indit 

and  from  their  inherited  ideas  and  customs  there  is  no 
departure,  for  they  recognize  no  law  of  progress,  but  all 
bow  to  the  standards  that  have  been  fixed  by  the  inex- 
orable law  of  the  past 

Within  that  close  corporation  no  foreign  ideas  nor 
customs  intrude,  but  all  things  continue  from  genera- 
tion to  generation  as  transmitted  by  their  forefathers, 
and  no  one  conceives  of  doing  otherwise,  for  the  ortho- 
dox Hindu  mind  is  not  supposed  to  exercise  itself  with 
such  liberties.  Hence  the  children  become  imbued  with 
the  spirit  of  caste  by  precept  and  by  example  so  that  it 
becomes  an  inherent  asset  of  their  being,  for  there  was 
little  change  or  development  in  the  monotonous  routine 
in  the  life  of  the  ordinary  Hindu  for  many  centuries, 
beyond  the  growth  in  yeaifl,  inasmuch  as  their  ideals 
were  in  the  past,  and  custom  was  finality  for  their  in- 
dividual conduct.  They  preserved  the  purit'-  or  im- 
purity of  their  particular  caste  by  confining  thejr  inter- 
marriages to  restricted  degrees  of  relationship,  and 
which  has  been  attended  by  many  evils. 

English  rule  and  education  in  India  have  become 
powerful  solvents  of  some  of  the  worst  features  of  caste, 
for  the  government  decreed  in  1831  that "  no  native  be 
debarred  from  office  on  account  of  caste,  creed  or  race, 
and  that  a  son  who  had  left  his  father's  religion  did 
not  thereby  forfeit  his  inheritance."  Even  some  of  the 
higher  Hindus  have  gone  into  the  most  tabooed  leather 
business  because  they  saw  it  to  be  remunerative,  although 
still  under  the  ban  of  caste,  and  the  beggar  Brahman 
would  not  take  food  from  them,  for  that  would  be  pollu- 
tion, although  he  would  not  be  polluted  by  the  touch 
of  a  cat  or  even  a  dog,  and  such  discriminations  seem 
irrational. 


ii 


•V*  at 


11 


.i1 


Caste 


199 


The  opening  of  the  railroad  became  an  effectual  en- 
tering wedge  into  this  hitherto  inexorable  system  that 
had  separated  all  classes,  for  the  common  seat  ir  llif^ 
coach  became  eventually  the  meeting  place  of  a  condi- 
tions of  men  who  could  pay  the  fare,  for  that  i^^ikot  en- 
titled one  of  the  hitherto  untouchables  to  thf  ,0  .t  be- 
side the  haughty  Brahman.  No  provision  was  mado 
on  this  fast  line  of  universal  progress  for  that  hoary 
system  of  caste  that  for  so  many  years  had  made  all 
progress  impossible.  This  startling  innovation  came 
from  the  West,  and  all  readily  recognized  its  superior 
advantages  as  a  means  of  transportation  in  that  hot 
country  of  long  distances,  and  with  which  the  uncom- 
fortable springless  bullock  cart  could  not  be  compared. 
But  it  was  run  on  an  altogether  too  democratic  basis, 
and  the  Brahmans  demurred  and  entered  vigorous  pro- 
tests to  secure  immunity  for  themselves  which  would 
not  subject  them  to  the  grievous  outrage  of  putting  one 
of  the  depressed  classes  in  the  same  compartment  with 
them.  However,  the  railroads  were  not  built  by  the 
caste  system,  and  the  trains  were  not  scheduled  to  run 
for  the  exclusive  convenience  of  the  Brahman  aristoc- 
racy; so  they  had  no  alternative  except  to  walk  or 
ride  in  the  slow  and  uncomfortable  bandy  cart,  and 
hence  they  ungracefully  submitted  by  gathering  them- 
selves as  closely  together  as  possible,  and  trying  to  keep 
the  untouchables  at  elbow  distance,  lest  the  actual  touch 
shoulv'I  cause  pollution. 

The  public  educational  system  is  a  great  leveller  of 
caste,  for  the  upper  castes,  in  order  to  keep  pace  with 
the  lower  ones  in  competing  for  honours  and  govern- 
ment positions  and  stations  of  influence,  must  have 
their  children  educated.    But  all  caste  distinction  is 


I 


'■ 


M 


200  The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

ignored  in  the  public  schoolhouse,  for  the  high  and 
low,  Brahman  and  Fanchama,  meet  and  sit  together, 
although  some  exceptions  have  been  made  where  the 
Pariahs  sit  outside  in  the  veranda.  They  not  only 
compete  for  rank  in  the  class  room,  but  the  latter  have 
even  carried  off  the  coveted  university  honours. 

In  many  respects  the  Brahmans  are  the  favoured 
class  and  not  so  restricted  as  to  the  character  of  their 
particular  employment ;  for  whilst  they  furnish  all  the 
priests  they  also  find  occupation  as  soldiers,  farmers 
and  servants,  and  it  seems  rather  incongruous  to  find 
the  high  caste  Brahman  doing  service  for  a  low  caste 
employer,  whose  bread  he  would  not  receive  and  at 
whose  table  he  would  not  eat.  Such  self-conscious 
superiority  often  hangs  upon  a  very  slender  thread 
not  visible  to  the  eyas  of  mortals,  for  even  that  sacred 
or  twice  bom  cord  which  the  Brahman  wears  is  too 
plain  and  limited  to  conceal  his  menial  service.  The 
young  men  who  have  been  members  of  the  Panchama 
class,  but  who  have  received  their  education  in  the 
Christian  missions,  and  developed  so  as  to  outrank  the 
leading  Brahmans  in  the  place,  so  far  as  intellectual 
influence  and  service  for  the  social  betterment  of  hu- 
manity are  concerned,  become  convinced  that  the  caste 
system  is  as  artificial  as  it  is  unjust,  and  their  influence 
is  directed  against  it. 

The  Gaekwar  of  Baroda,  who  has  taken  an  actirepart 
in  a  wide-spread  movement  to  secure  the  amelioration 
of  the  d^:nded  state  of  the  untouchables  who  make  up 
one-fifth  of  the  Hindu  population,  declares  that  "  want 
of  education  is  practically  universal  among  them,  for 
they  are  unable  to  attend  the  ordinary  schools  owing  to 
the  id^n  that  it  ii  pollution  to  touch  them.    To  do  so  is 


Castf 


201 


,' 


to  commit  a  sin  offensive  alike  to  rt  ligion  and  to  con- 
ventional morality.    Of  professions  as  a  means  of  live- 
lihood those  depressed  classes  have  a  very  small  choice. 
Here  too  tl  •  supposed  pollution  of  their  touch  comes  in 
their  way.    The  common  man,  who  never  bothers  to 
search  for  the  reason  of  a  practice  that  is  sanctioned  by 
custom  or  what  he  calls  religion,  believes  it  sin  to  touch 
one  of  the  depressed  classes,  the  expiation  of  which  is 
a  bath,  the  shaving  of  the  face,  the  handing  over  of  a 
substantial  fine  to  the  Brahmans.    That  his  fathers  did 
it  before  him,  and  that  the  nebulous  collection  of  cus- 
tom and  superstition  which  does  duty  for  religion  with 
him  prescribes  it,  satisfies  his  reason.    You  cannot 
argue  with  him  for  his  religion  is  beyond  argument, 
being  based  on  facts  which  if  written  are  more  or  less 
inaccessible,  and  not  open  to  logical  attack.    The  more 
educated  put  forth  a  complicated  occult  theory  in  justi- 
fication of  this  practice. 

"  To  touch  a  dead  animal  or  leather  destroys  sanctity ; 
so  does  the  touch  from  some  of  the  animals— and  so  on 
until  it  culminates  among  some  Vaishnavas  who  cannot 
eat  food  cooked  by  their  own  wives.  It  is  pollution,  it 
is  loss  of  sanctity  to  do  so.  What  can  be  more  absurd  ? 
The  polluting  power  of  a  cat  is  very  small,  of  a  dog  it 
is  greater,  but  nothing  equals  the  pollution  of  a  Pariah. 
The  degrading  of  a  man  below  beasts  is  the  culminating 
point  of  this  fabric  of  sanctity. 

"  The  religion  which  commands  the  trampling  down 
of  millions  of  our  fellows  into  perpetual  ignorance,  and 
consequent  vice,  disease  and  misery,  is  a  false  one.  If 
the  Indian  people  wish  to  progress  and  to  make  the 
most  of  their  national  influence  they  must  give  up  these 
old  false  ideals,  and  limit  the  tyrannical  and  despotic 


• 


I 


202   The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 


I     i 


r.  H 


t     f3' 


f 


sway  of  religion,  which  is  crushing  out  the  life  of  our 
people  by  driving  out  of  them  all  sense  of  personal 
pride,  individuality  and  ambition.  The  absurdity  and 
injustice  of  the  theory  divide  men  into  divisions  based 
not  on  personal  merit  but  on  mere  accident  of  birth."  ' 

The  Brahman  who  has  so  long  been  accustomed  to 
lord  it  over  the  low  castes  does  not  even  bow  his  head 
when  addressing  them,  and  the  self-centred  priests  do 
not  even  deign  to  bow  before  the  images  of  the  gods  of 
the  Sudra  and  lower  castes  when  officiating  at  the 
simple  altar  in  the  homes  of  these  people.  No  wonder 
that  the  distinguished  native  jurist,  Jagendra  Nath 
Battacharya,  arraigns  the  practice  of  caste  in  the 
severest  terms  when  he  declared  that  "  nothing  can  be 
more  sinful  than  to  speak  respectfully  of  persons  v/ho 
are  enemies  of  mankind,  and  to  whitewash  rotten  insti- 
tutions by  esoteric  explanations  and  fine  phrases.  For 
purposes  of  marriage  and  interchanged  hospitality  each 
caste  is  an  independent  and  exclusive  body." 

"  The  Vedic  rites  and  prayers  which  the  three  higher 
castes  are  required  to  perform  are  all  prohibited  to  the 
Sudra.  The  latter  can  be  taught  to  repeat  only  those 
prayers  which  are  prescribed.  But  the  Brahman  who 
enlists  even  a  good  Sudra  among  his  disciples  is  lowered 
forever  in  the  estimation  of  the  people ;  while  minister- 
ing to  a  Sudra  of  a  low  class,  he  is  degraded  altogether." 
"  Under  no  circumstances  is  he  to  eat  any  food  cooked 
with  water  and  salt  by  a  Sudra,  or  touched  by  a  Sudra 
after  being  so  cooked." 

*  Indian  Bmiew,  December,  1908. 


^i\ 


vin 

HINDU  TEMPLES 

THESE  are  found  in  all  the  cities,  towns  and 
villages  of  the  empire,  from  Cape  Comorinon 
the  south  to  the  Himalayas  on  the  north.    And 
whilst  there  are  some  large  and  magnificent  ones  in 
Bengal  and  the  Madras  Presidency,  every  village  has  its 
temple  and  shrine,  however  small  and  insignificant 
they  may  be,  for  the  people  are  passionately  reUgious 
and  devoted  to  their  gods.     Among  the  thirty  or  forty 
Dravidian  temples  in  the  South,  there  are  few  that 
antedate  the  fifteenth  and  sixteenth  centuries,  and  some 
belong  to  an  even  later  period.    By  far  the  most 
magnificent  of  these  temples  are  located  in  Southern 
India  and  are  easily  reached  by  rail.    The  towenng 
pyramidal  gopura  is  the  most  distinctive  feature,  and 
this  is  the  first  object  seen  among  the  buildings,  for  it 
is  the  most  conspicuous  as  well  as  picturesque  object  in 

the  landscape. 

On  our  way  north  from  Tuticorin,  we  received  our 
first  impression  of  the  Dravidian  temples  at  Madura. 
These  are  the  religious  centres  of  every  community, 
and  the  chief  attraction  for  the  traveller  who  is  inter- 
ested in  the  study  of  humanity,  for  here  we  find  a  won- 
derful panorama  of  human  interests  spread  out  before 
us  and  ever  changing  with  a  sort  of  kaleidoscopic  eflfect 
that  prevents  all  monotony.    It  was  a  strange  and 

303 


fl 

11 


11 


III 


m 


ill 

1 

III 


204   '^^^  ^^  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 


vl^': 


m 

fl     Vl 


'm 


■  ■i, 


:l  r 


different  world  in  which  we  fouiul  ourselves,  for  the 
transformation  from  the  West  to  the  East  is  so  great 
that  an  eye-witness  alune  can  appreciate  it.  You  can- 
not express  certain  qualities  and  feelings  in  cold  tyyte 
ujwn  the  page,  no  more  than  you  can  define  a  mother's 
sorrow  by  a  chemical  analysis  of  her  tcjirs.  To  know 
the  exact  flavour  of  a  luscious  peach  you  must  eat  it 
yourself,  and  to  know  and  feel  certain  conditions  in 
India,  you  must  see  them,  for  they  are  so  utterly 
foreign  and  strange  to  us. 

After  all,  nothing  is  so  interesting  as  the  human  ele- 
ment, and  hence  I  have  given  it  a  prominent  place  in 
this  work.  It  is  never  absent  in  India,  with  its  teem- 
ing millions,  and  the  thousands  that  crowd  aboul  the 
temples  on  every  festival  occasion;  and  I  shall  en- 
deavour to  describe  some  of  the  scenes  witnessed,  trust- 
ing that  by  the  aid  of  the  imagination  the  reader  may 
also  be  enabled  to  see  them. 

Imagine  a  quadrangle  847X729  feet,  enclosing  the 
great  temple  and  group  of  related  buildings, — having 
four  large  gopuras  and  five  small  ones,  the  largest 
reaching  to  a  height  of  about  one  hundred  and  fifty 
feet.  The  gopura  is  an  imposing  structure,  and  serves 
as  the  gateway  to  the  temple,  and  somewhat  resembles 
the  pylon  of  the  ancient  Egyptian  temple.  These  lofty 
and  picturesque  towers  add  greatly  to  the  grandeur  of 
the  architectural  effect,  as  well  as  to  the  solemnity  of 
the  sacred  buildings.  The  gr*>at  temple  is  not  the  only 
attractive  feature  in  the  enclosure,  for  there  is  the  so- 
called  hall  of  one  thousand  pillars,  with  some  remark- 
able carvings.  The  monumental  gatew  ly  is  covered  on 
all  sides  with  raised  figures  and  designs  of  great  va- 
riety in  stucco.    The  origiaal  pui'pose  may  have  been 


Hindu  Temples 


205 


purely  decorative,  and  in  addition  to  the  many  geo- 
metrical designs,  there  are  figurt^  of  animals,  gods  and 
goddesses,  and  some  of  them  Imve  brilliant  colours. 

The  decoration  is  cheap  and  easily  criticized  from  the 
standpoint  of  art,  for  there  is  much  that  is  grotesque 
and  inartistic,  and  distance  lends  enchantment ;  but  the 
general  effect  Ls  picturesque  and  m(jst  imposing  to  the 
swarms  of  illiterate  pilgrims.  The  laxish  prodigality 
of  decoration,  and  the  i)revailing  bright  colours  of  red, 
green  and  blue  must  impress  the  rainds  of  most  of  the 
Hindus  as  something  lK)rdering  on  the  marvellous. 

About  the  gateway  many  beggars  were  congregated 
to  soUcit  alms  from  the  multitudes  as  they  entered  and 
withdrew.    One  of  them  was  of  special  interest,  and 
made  a  profound  impression  upon  me,  for  he  was  the 
li  first  devotee  of  the  bovine  cult  that  I  had  witnessed, 

although  the  spectacle  became  one  of  the  familiar  ob- 
jects seen  about  the  great  temples.    I  have  introduced 
him  to  the  reader  through  a  photograph  that  I  took  of 
him,  for  he  appeared  much  pleased  to  have  his  picture 
taken,  and  he  posed  for  the  occasion  by  assuming  his 
devout  attitude,  that  showed  his  attachment  and  faith 
in  the  sacred  animal  by  alternately  rubbing  his  hand 
over  its  back  and  then  taking  hold  of  the  tail  and 
pressing  it  to  his  lips  with  intense  fervour.    The  people 
crowded  about  us  and  looked  on  with  evident  curiosity, 
and  shut  out  of  view  the  ascetic,  who,  not  to  be  frus- 
trated, changed  his  position  and  sat  directly  in  front  of 
"the  animal  \vith  his  head  resting  against  its  jaw.    He 
had  an  abundant  growth  of  black  hair  that  fell  over  his 
shoulders,  and  his  long  whiskers  were  in  striking  con- 
trast with  his  pale  ashen  face.    He  was  by  no  means 
indifferent  to  his  appearance  for  he  brushed  aside  the 


1: 


m- 


I',  I 


"t 


r--'  i; 


206  The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

hair  that  had  almost  cuncealed  bis  face,  and  several 
times  he  stroked  bis  long  flowing  beard ;  but  bo  sbuwed 
no  concern  as  to  the  effect  of  bis  scanty  wardrobe,  for 
his  sanctity  was  supposed  to  be  a  sufficient  covering, 
and  which  was  abundantly  supplemented  by  bis  long 
and  heavy  growth  of  hair  and  whiskers,  lie  was  an 
interesting  representative  of  that  ubiquitous  type  of 
ascetics  that  attract  the  special  attention  of  travellers, 
and  we  never  lost  our  interest  in  them,  for  they  were  a 
marked  example  of  some  of  tbe  strange  and  irrecon- 
cilable freaks  of  that  complex  system  of  Hinduism. 

Passing  through  the  gateway  we  entered  a  large 
area  that  was  converted  into  a  bazaar,  where  many 
articles  were  offered  for  sale,  especially  cheap  jew- 
elry, made  of  brass  and  coloured  bits  of  glass  instead 
of  precious  stones,  for  the  poor  of  India  have  a  passion 
for  display  in  jewelry  as  seen  in  their  peculiar  and 
profuse  ornamentations.  There  was  a  din  of  noise,  and 
the  atmosphere  was  musty  and  laden  with  pungent 
odours  of  undefinable  ingredients,  for  the  animals  that 
freely  roamed  about  had  converted  it  into  an  unclean 
and  malodorous  place.  The  sunshine  was  excluded, 
and  the  fictitious  sanctity  from  the  cow  could  not 
neutralize  the  stale  and  offensive  elements  that  entered 
into  that  atmosphere,  and  make  it  agreeable  to  the 
olfactory  nerves  of  any  one  except  the  devout  Hindu. 

Crowds  swarmed  through  the  temple  apparently 
drawn  thither,  like  ourselves,  out  of  curiosity  and  to  see 
the  objects  of  interest  and  study  tbe  faces  of  strange 
looking  men  and  women,  for  there  was  no  particular 
place  set  apart  for  worship,  and  where  the  people  en- 
gaged in  special  religious  devotions  during  certain 
hours  of  the  day,  the  throng  moved  aimlessly  about, 


Hindu  Temples 


207 


bat  with  what  thoughts  and  silent  prayers  we  know 
not.    There  w>»s  no  special  demonstration  or  outward 
devotions  that  would  correspond  with  our  idea  of  con- 
gregational or  private  worship,  although  certain  in- 
dividuals  stopped   for  a  moment  in  meditation  be- 
fore some  shrine  and  then  hurried  on,  but  without  any 
apparent  concern  for  any  one  else.    The  sacred  image 
of  the  god  Siva,  confined  within  its  holy  shrine,  was  the 
centre  of  religious  attraction  for  the  Hindus,  and  in  or- 
der to  deepen  the  mystery  of  the  divinity,  its  sanctuary 
is  but  faintly  lighted  by  the  small  taper  of  the  primi- 
tive lamp;  yet  this  dim  religious  light  was  no  less 
obscure  than  the  purpose  that  seemed  to  have  brought 
the  people  there,  for  many  gazed  upon  us  with  as  great 
curiosity  as  they  did  upon  that  image,  and  much  longer. 
There  were  numerous  priests  in  attendance  to  direct  the 
visitors  to  see  the  sights,  and  to  collect  from  them  as 
much  as  possible  for  the  support  of  the  temple. 

It  was  a  relief  to  escape  from  the  crowded  building 
to  an  outer  court  where  there  was  a  beautiful  arcade 
about  a  large  tank  of  water,  a  necessary  equipment  in 
connection  with  the  daily  religious  ablutions,  for  the 
sacred  bulls,  though  impelled  by  a  different  instinct, 
foUowed  the  example  of  the  Hindus,  and  even  exceeded 
them  in  the  number  of  times  that  they  oathed.  No 
doubt  the  excessive  heat  led  them  so  frequently  into  that 
tank,  although  the  water  was  quite  warm,  and  of  course 
no  one  disturbed  them,  although  there  were  some  very 
offensive  features  connected  with  their  gross  violation 
of  our  Western  standards  of  common  propriety  that 
shocked  us,  but  it  did  not  offend  the  sense  of  the  strict 
religious  etiquette  of  Hinduism;  inasmuch  as  those 
animals  are  so  sacred,  and  everything  that  proceeds 


? 


vm 


ml':. 


•      1 

:;■  .  . 
,1  * 

m 

ii  ;1 1 


*i  i 


ao8  The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

fmm  them  is  so  potent  in  securing  salvation  for  the 
Hindu  that  special  rights  are  accorded  to  the  bulls  and 
cows  and  which  would  be  denied  to  man.  The  most 
and  perhaps  famous  of  these  places  is  the  Mahamokam 
tank  at  Kumbhakonam. 

In  a  sheltered  corner  stood  several  large  elephants 
that  were  employed  in  special  services  about  the  tem- 
ple, and  to  give  impressiveness  to  the  religious  cere- 
monies connected  with  the  spectacular  festival  proces- 
sions that  we  witnessed  on  the  following  day.  The 
Juggernaut  oar  processions  are  not  confined  to  the  tem- 
ple at  Puri,  that  contains  his  original  and  sacred  image, 
but  as  he  is  one  of  the  manifestations  of  Vishnu,  there- 
fore his  temples  are  in  every  large  town,  and  even 
some  smaller  ones  have  their  Juggernaut  image,  and 
their  annual  car  procession,  on  the  great  festival  day, 
while  the  ceremonies  attenf'mg  them  are  similar  to 
those  seen  at  the  central  sej>.t  \t  Puri,  although  on  a 
less  elaborate  scale. 

In  various  cities  in  Southern  India  we  saw  the  colos- 
sal Juggernaut  cars,  sometimes  enclosed  in  a  shed  or 
with  a  covering  above  it,  and  kept  near  the  temple  in 
readiness  for  the  next  festival.  Some  were  of  enor- 
mous size,  and  nearly  fifty  feet  in  height,  with  ponder- 
ous wheels  and  massive  beams  for  axles ;  the  wheels 
were  without  the  modern  hub,  spokes  and  felloes,  and 
made  of  very  heavy  planks,  so  that  we  can  easily  un- 
derstand how  several  hundred  men  at  least,  tugging 
at  long  ropes,  would  be  required  to  draw  the  car 
through  the  rough  streets. 

The  body  of  the  car  is  made  of  lighter  material 
and  built  in  a  somewhat  pyramidal  form,  although  it 
is  square  and   wide  at  the  base,  resembling  a  small 


i  , 


Hindu  Temples 


209 


cottage.  We  saw  a  much  smaller  one  drawn  by  one 
hundred  or  more  men  and  women  through  the  main 
street  in  Guntur.  The  idol  was  seated  on  the  car  be- 
neath a  canopy,  and  was  gaudily  dressed  in  bright 
colours  with  a  profusion  of  jewelry  and  looking  like 
some  oriental  doll.  On  either  side  of  the  image  stood 
a  boy  who  was  fanning  it,  not  to  keep  the  god  cool  nor 
to  keep  the  flies  from  its  face,  but,  in  accordance  with 
Eastern  custom,  in  showing  marked  respect  and  rever- 
ence for  a  superior  personage,  for  that  was  a  represent- 
ative of  Juggernaut,  the  lord  of  the  world  in  the  eyes 
of  the  Hindu  worshipper  of  Vishnu. 

It  was  a  hard  pull  to  draw  that  car  up  a  slight  in- 
cline and  the  men  and  women  pulled  most  strenuously, 
but  rested  at  short  intervals.  They  perspired  freely 
and  some  leaned  against  the  buildings  for  a  rest  until 
ordered  to  move  again.  They  did  not  appear  to  be  in 
a  very  serious  mood,  especially  the  young  man  whom 
I  addressed,  for  in  reply  to  my  question  as  to  why 
they  were  drawing  the  car  with  the  image  through 
the  streets,  he  said  that  the  god  had  been  in  the  temple 
for  six  months  and  was  sick,  and  they  were  taking  him 
out  for  an  airing. 

The  car  procession  that  we  witnessed  at  Madura  was 
an  unusually  attractive  one  for  it  was  the  annual  cele- 
bration of  their  great  religious  festival,  and  thousands 
of  people,  men  and  women,  crowded  the  main  thorough- 
fare, and  only  the  centre  was  cleared  for  the  proces- 
sion. The  street  was  unusually  wide  and  adapted  to 
such  spectacular  display.  The  women  mingled  freely 
in  the  crowd  and  many  were  dressed  in  costumes  and 
adorned  with  rich  jewelry  that  indicated  their  financial 
rank  at  least,  and  their  general  appearance  and  excel- 


\      I 


•"**: 


I 


.1 


•ri 


il^if 


210   The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

lent  behaviour  were  evidence  that  they  belonged  to  the 
better  class.  Thoir  bright  and  happy  faces  showed  that 
they  enjoyed  the  freedom  of  that  day,  and  that  they 
did  not  belong  to  that  unfortunate  class  of  women, 
found  in  some  quarters  of  India,  who  voluntarily  en- 
slave themselves  by  keeping  indoors  and  in  their 
secluded  ajmrtments  behind  the  purdah.  Large  groups 
allowed  themselves  to  be  photographetl,  and  it  seemed 
to  afford  them  much  amusement. 

It  was  an  unusual  opportunity  to  behold  all  classes, 
the  rich  and  the  jjoor,  the  high  and  the  low,  the  prince 
and  the  pauper,  for  the  people  of  Madura  were  on  the 
street  and  all  enjoyed  that  gala  day  with  its  brilliant 
street  attractions.  Of  course,  with  the  rich  display  of 
wealth  and  the  cheerful  countenances  there  was  abject 
poverty,  and  many  faces  scarred  with  the  sad  marks 
that  showed  the  terrible  struggle  for  existence  through 
which  they  had  passed.  The  regular  contingent  of  that 
worse  than  useless  population,  the  ascetics  and  mendi- 
cants, mingled  with  the  crowd,  and  the  wild  look  of 
some  of  these  religious  fanatics  clearly  indicated  that 
they  should  be  treated  in  some  asylum.  It  was  an  in- 
teresting study  of  the  extreme  of  humanity,  for  the 
utmost  freedom  and  good-will  prevailed,  and  all  were 
patient  and  courteous.  There  was  no  intoxication,  and 
I  saw  none  of  that  disgusting  class  of  half-drunken 
fools  who  often  become  a  terror  and  a  disgrace  on  a 
public  holiday  in  our  country. 

There  was  great  excitement  as  the  procession  ap- 
proached, and  from  our  commanding  position  we  saw 
all  that  transpired.  Never  before  had  we  seen  such 
oriental  splendour  and  barbaric  display  ;  and  ancient 
history  seemed  to  be  reproduced  before  our  eyes,  and  in 


Hindu  Temples 


211 


inugination  I  witnessed  the  gorgeoos  parades  of  the 
days  of  the  powerful  native  Moguls  and  emperors  of 
India  in  centuries  gone  by.  Those  once  mighty  rulers 
seemed  to  live  again,  and  the  «nos  of  their  times  be- 
came visualized  and  vitalized  by  this  living  {wnorama. 
There  was  no  other  pageant  in  mcxlern  times  in  Madura 
to  be  compared  with  this  annual  festival,  and  thousands 
came  from  the  villages  about.  A  large  number  of  ele- 
phants, richly  caparisoned,  addwl  gnatly  to  the  imixj- 
sing  character  of  that  procession.  The  proud  mahout 
who  sat  on  the  shoulders,  astride  the  neck,  was  thrilled 
with  a  sense  of  pride  because  of  his  conspicuous  posi- 
tion, and  he  prodded  the  monster  animal  with  his  iron 
goad,  even  more  than  was  necessary,  to  show  his  im- 
portance. 

Everything  was  on  an  elaborate  scale,  and  there  was 
a  great  exhibition  of  the  images  of  their  chief  divinities. 
These  were  of  silver,  of  large  size,  and  representing  a 
variety  of  animals  and  fouls,  borne  on  the  shoulders  of 
four  men  and  beneath  a  i^rgeous  canopy;  although 
the  largest  ones  were  mounted  on  wagons,  some  of 
which  were  drawn  b-  elephants  with  their  gaudy 
trappings.  There  were  some  richly  decorated  cars, 
built  for  that  special  purpose,  and  on  which  were  seated 
some  of  the  leading  dignitaries  of  the  city.  There  was 
great  variety,  and  many  startling  surprises  among  the 
objects  and  decorations  of  that  parade,  but  the  one  of 
chief  interest  to  us  was  the  elaborate  car  Juggernaut 
and  which  contained  the  image  of  their  chief  divinity. 
Unbounded  enthusiasm  wa.s  manifested  as  it  apprcached 
and  the  reiigicsis  feeling  of  the  people  was  evident. 

"When  the  grand  marshal  of  the  day  saw  my  interest 
he  stopped  the  procession  until  I  took  a  number  of 


it: 


mt' 


«ff  - 


Mfi)lti 


uu 


f- 


hi '' 


212   The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

photographs,  and  for  all  this  unexpeoteu  courtesy  >3 
only  asked  me  to  send  him  some  of  the  pictures,  and 
which  I  did  with  due  acknowledgment.  Imagine  that 
marshal,  unsolicited  and  unexpected,  showing  such  re- 
markr.ble  consideration  as  to  stop  that  vast  religious 
procession  of  Hindus  in  order  that  an  American  might 
have  a  favourable  opportunity  to  gratify  his  desire  in 
getting  some  interesting  pictures.  Of  all  the  people  of 
the  world,  none  are  so  universally  and  intensely  patient 
and  courteous  as  the  Hindus,  and  hence  my  deep 
interest  in  them,  for  they  are  deserving  of  a  far  better 
fate  than  that  which  they  have  inherited  from  Hindu- 
ism. 

One  of  che  most  magnificent  gopuras  is  seen  at 
Tanjore  in  front  of  one  of  the  greatest  of  all  the 
Dravidian  temples,  and  one  of  the  oldest,  for  it  was 
built  in  tL^  fourteenth  century.  It  is  unique  in  that 
whilst  it  was  dedicated  to  Siva  and  his  worship,  the 
figures  on  the  gopuras  belong  to  the  religion  of  the  god 
Vishnu,  and  this  apparent  compromise  seems  to  indicate 
the  amicable  relations  that  existed  at  the  time  this 
temple  was  constructed,  and  that  the  lines  of  distinction 
were  not  c  early  defined.  The  chief  gopura  rises  to  a 
height  of  two  hundred  feet,  and  as  we  pass  through  this 
gateway,  we  see  in  the  foreground  of  the  enclosure  the 
colossal  sculptured  stone  image  of  Siva's  bull  (nandi)  in 
a  recumbent  position.  The  material  is  granite,  but  it 
has  grown  black  with  age,  and  especially  from  the 
quantity  of  oil  poured  over  it.  Its  chief  attraction  is 
due  to  vast  proportions  and  symbolic  character,  rather 
than  to  any  superior  artistic  merit,  for  the  carv- 
ing shows  a  decline  in  art,  and  it  belongs  to  a  later 
period  than  the  temple. 


i-i^ 


Hindu  Temples 


213 


Va 


Trichinopoly  is  almost  a  qrnonym  for  the  rooky 
mount  that  rises  abruptly  from  the  plain,  and  which 
we  ascend  by  about  three  hundred  stone  steps  cut  out 
of  the  native  rock.  From  the  summit  there  is  a  com- 
manding view  of  the  level  country  on  all  sides.  There 
was  an  insignificant  temple  of  Oanesa  that  crowned 
this  elevation,  and  several  shrines  in  caverns  on  the 
sides,  but  of  no  special  interest,  although  the  attendant 
priests  pled  for  our  attention  and  rupees  in  behalf  of 
their  childlike  ceremonies  and  decorations. 

It  is  a  drive  of  several  miles  to  Seringham,  where 
there  is  one  of  the  largest  and  most  interesting  groups 
of  temples  in  all  India.  They  are  more  modem  than 
those  at  Tanjore,  but  the  picturesque  effect  of  so  many 
temples  grouped  together  vdthin  a  limited  area  is 
unrivalled,  and  one  of  them  is  the  largest,  and  unsur- 
passed in  beauty  by  any  other  temple  of  Hinduism. 
As  many  as  fifteen  gopuras  add  to  the  picturesque 
picture  that  attracts  every  traveller. 

Monier  Williams  declares  that "  Ko  sight  is  to  be  seen 
in  any  part  of  India  that  can  at  all  compare  with  the 
unique  eflfect  produced  by  its  series  of  seven  quadran- 
gular enclosures  formed  by  seven  squares  of  massive 
walls,  one  within  the  other,  every  square  pierced  by 
four  lofty  gateways,  and  each  gateway  surmounted  by 
pyramidal  towers  rivalling  in  altitude  the  adjacent  rock 
of  Trichinopoly.  The  construction  of  this  marvellous 
congeries  of  sacred  buildings  must  have  cost  millions  of 
rupees,  and  since  its  first  construction  fabulous  sums 
have  been  spent  on  its  maintenance  and  enlargement. 
It  is  said  that  kings  and  princes  have  emptied  their 
coffers  and  given  up  their  revenues  for  the  completion 
and  extension  of  its  many  storied  towers ;  rich  men  of 


N4 


i:t 


H' 


w 


iH' 


214  The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

every  rank  hrve  parted  with  their  treasures  for  the 
adding  of  column  after  column  to  its  thousand  pillared 
courts;  misers  have  yielded  up  their  hoards  for  the 
decoration  of  its  jewelled  images;  capitalists  have 
bequeathed  vast  benefactions  for  the  support  of  its 
priests;  architects  and  artists  have  exhausted  all 
their  resources  for  the  production  of  a  perfect  shrine, 
the  worthy  receptacle  of  an  idol  of  transcendent 
glory." ' 

The  immediate  approach  to  this  maze  of  temples  is 
through  a  great  outer  court,  lined  with  bazaars,  and 
hawkers  went  through  the  crowds  of  thousands  of 
people,  offering  their  wares  for  sale,  for  though  it  was 
a  sacred  city,  the  commercial  feature  was  necessary  for 
meeting  the  enormous  current  expenses  involved  in  the 
maintenance  of  these  temples.  In  the  centre  of  this 
foreground  was  a  monster  elephant,  that  under  the 
direction  of  his  keeper  performed  some  clever  tricks  for 
the  entertainment  of  the  pilgrims,  and  as  a  means  of 
revenue.  Inasmuch  as  the  temple  had  been  dedicated 
to  Vishnu,  the  elephant  belonged  to  the  same  deity, 
and  on  his  forehead,  painted  in  broad  bands  of  white 
and  vermilion,  he  bore  a  large  figure  of  the  trident,  the 
distinctive  symbol  of  the  god  Vishnu.  Often  this 
symbol  is  represented  merely  by  three  vertical  lines,  as 
these  are  more  easily  made  than  the  trident.  One  of 
the  most  interesting  buildings  in  the  group  was  the 
great  hall  of  one  thousand  columns,  each  elaborately 
carved  from  a  block  of  granite,  but  the  general  effect 
was  sadly  marred  by  evident  neglect. 

We  saw  several  of  the  large  Juggernaut  cars  that  are 
drawn  through  the  streets  by  thousands  of  pilgrims  on 
>  "  Bnhmanism  and  Hindaism." 


\i'. 


Hindu  Temples 


215 


the  occasion  of  the  great  religious  festival  Chidam- 
bram  should  be  included  in  the  places  seen  aa  we 
journey  north,  for  the  temples  are  of  unusual  interest, 
and  the  place  is  holy,  and  these  are  sufficient  reasons  to 
attract  the  traveller  in  search  of  knowledge.  Unfortu- 
nately the  railroad  was  located  too  far  away  from  the 
city,  and  the  carts  are  the  most  forbidding  that  I  saw 
in  India,  and  are  likely  to  continue  until  there  is  a 
demand  for  something  better  through  the  increased 
number  of  foreigners  visiting  this  place.  There  was 
aho  difficulty  in  getting  anything  that  a  foreigner 
could  eat,  beyond  fruit,  except  at  the  home  of  a  mis- 
sionary. 

During  years  of  travel  we  had  suffered  much  from 
wretched  vehicles  driven  over  cobblestone  stretits,  but 
never  did  we  get  such  a  punishment  as  that  which  was 
inflicted  upon  us  the  day  we  drove  from  the  station  to 
Chidambram,  for  even  the  streets  of  Cordova  are  better. 
The  covered  cart  was  so  low  that  we  could  not  sit 
upright  but  were  obliged  to  recline  on  our  elbows  or 
else  lie  flat,  and  the  jolting  was  too  severe  for  either 
position,  for  the  man  drove  as  furiously  as  Jehu. 

However,  we  have  not  regretted  having  passed 
through  that  ordeal,  for  the  famous  old  temple  of  Siva, 
and  the  unusually  lofty  gopuras,  richly  repaid  us  for 
the  temporary  agony  endured  in  that  low  and  spring- 
less  bullock  cart.  The  temple  was  provided  with  a 
band  of  musicians  and  they  played  their  strenuous 
instruments  incessantly  and  during  all  the  hours  that 
we  spent  about  the  sacred  precincts.  There  was  a 
great  variety  of  instruments,  all  unfamiliar  with  the 
exception  of  the  tom-toms,  but  no  matter  by  what 
name  you  might  call  them,  the  quality  of  the  music 


2l6  The  Grod  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

would  not  be  improved.  In  fact  it  seemed  like  a  con- 
tradiction of  terms  to  call  it  music,  for  there  was  only 
a  deafening  din  of  discordant  sounds  that  became  ex- 
cruciating to  sensitive  nerves ;  and  each  one  seemed  to 
be  bent  upon  making  all  the  noise  he  could  and  without 
any  reference  to  the  other  musicians.  Again  and 
again  we  pled  with  them  to  stop  but  this  only  stimu- 
lated their  enthusiasm  and  they  blew  their  horns  louder 
than  ever  and  beat  the  tom-toms  as  if  testing  theur 
strength ;  for  they  could  not  understand  our  language 
of  disapproval  and  evidently  interpreted  our  signs  and 
violent  gesticulations  to  cease  as  expressing  our  ap- 
plause and  grateful  enthusiasm.  In  fact  the  treasurer 
of  the  temple  emphasized  the  fact  of  our  being  so 
highly  entertained  by  the  band  of  musicians  when 
attempting  to  extort  an  unusual  gratuity  as  we  were 
about  to  leave  the  temple.  Their  music  had  no  charms 
for  us,  and  what  strange  conceptions  of  divinities  they 
must  have  in  supposing  that  such  rasping  sounds  are 
pleasing  to  them. 

But  in  spite  of  this  band  of  intolerable  musicians 
that  followed  us  there  were  some  rich  compensations 
that  we  enjoyed,  for  it  was  in  the  great  temple  that  we 
got  our  best  and  clearest  view  of  the  sacred  inner 
sanctuary  and  which  contained  the  image  of  their 
deity.  The  golden  interior  was  well  lighted,  and  it 
sparkled  with  the  many  jewels  and  ornaments  in  gold. 
The  small  stairway  leading  into  the  shrine  was  made 
of  silver  with  many  ornaments  about  it  in  gold,  and 
we  spent  some  time  in  studying  this  famous  shrine,  for 
the  priests  were  courteous  and  patient  and  gave  us  all 
the  time  we  desired.  In  one  of  the  large  rooms  con- 
nected with  the  temple  we  were  permitted  to  get  a 


Hindu  Temples 


217 


oIoM  view  of  the  many  curious  representations  of 
some  strange  animal  divinities. 

These  saored  objects  were  treasured  in  this  place  un- 
til the  annual  parade,  when  they  were  carried  in  the 
processions.  They  were  of  large  size  and  in  appear- 
ance similar  to  those  seen  at  Madura,  and  I  suspect 
they  are  merely  silver  plated,  but  their  effect  upon  the 
illiterate  people  is  the  same.  The  attendant  priests 
endeavoured  to  awaken  our  enthusiasm  in  these  sacred 
symbols  by  telling  us  of  their  marvellous  potency 
among  the  people  in  former  years,  but  all  the  stories 
were  too  incredible  to  even  interest  us. 

It  was  different  with  the  natives,  for  Hinduism  had 
not  died  out  in  that  city,  and  we  were  surprised  to  see 
the  construction  of  a  new  temple,  and  on  a  magnifi- 
cent scale  and  at  enormous  expense  ty  a  wealthy  citi- 
zen of  Burma,  but  who  was  formerly  a  native  of 
Chidambram.  He  had  grown  to  be  immensely  rich 
and  had  returned  to  erect  this  costly  edifice  out  of 
gratitude  to  the  divinity  that  had  so  greatly  prospered 
him.  Some  of  thf  uare  pillars  with  sculptured  capi- 
tals cost  as  much  eight  thousand  rupees  each  and 
there  were  many  oi  them,  and  from  the  expense  of 
these  we  could  estimate  the  immense  cost  of  that 
temple.  Whilst  it  was  a  generous  act  it  was  not 
wholly  unselfish,  for  it  was  a  meritorious  act,  and  great 
blessings  were  in  store  for  him  in  the  next  life.  My 
only  regret  was  that  he  had  not  given  the  money  to 
feed  and  educate  the  depressed  classes,  for  there  was  no 
need  whatever  for  this  additional  temple  in  that  city, 
and  from  which  these  unfortunate  mortals  may  be  ex- 
cluded, just  as  we  were  not  allowed  to  cross  the  thresh- 
old of  the  chief  temple  of  this  quadrangular  group. 


"*1 


i^H'- 


f-hi^i 


IM' 


rl 


If' 


Is  •  . 


,f    -^^ 


218   The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

although  vre  were  freely  admitted  to  all  the  others ;  but 
whether  the  new  one  will  be  reserved  for  the  exclusive 
twice  bom  I  know  not. 

Conjeverim  is  one  of  the  seven  holy  cities  of  India, 
and  in  point  of  sanctity  is  the  Benares  of  the  South. 
There  are  two  towns,  not  far  apart,  and  known  re- 
spectively as  Grep*  Conjeverim,  and  Little  Conjeverim, 
the  former  con.*^^  an  enormous  temple,  with  one  of 
the  most  attractive  gopuras  with  ten  stories,  towering 
to  the  height  of  nearly  two  hundred  feet.  The  group 
of  temples  in  extent  and  picturesque  beauty  is  scarcely 
excelled  elsewhere  and  I  found  much  of  interest  in  the 
interior,  although  I  was  often  unable  to  understand  the 
priest  who  had  refused  the  professor  from  the  Christian 
college  to  accompany  me  within  the  sacred  precincts. 

I  visited  the  largo  Brahman  school  and  became 
greatly  interested  in  the  teachers  who  spoke  English 
fluently,  and  they  cheerfully  answered  my  questions 
respecting  the  temples,  school",  city  and  people,  and 
even  some  of  the  students  volunteered  their  informa- 
tion. But  I  found  them  utterly  unyielding  when  I 
protested  against  the  injustice  of  excluding  an  intelli- 
gent and  respectable  college  professor  from  the  temple 
merely  because  his  remote  ancestors  belonged  to  the 
Tamil  race  and  were  tabooed  as  a  low  caste.  I  tried  to 
reason  with  them  but  in  vain,  for  the  only  reason  that 
they  presented  and  which  controlled  them  was  custom, 
and  that  was  an  inheritance  that  was  inviolable.  This 
exclusive  act  did  not  appear  so  unjust  and  invidious  as 
it  did  later  in  the  day,  when  I  myself  was  refused  ad- 
mittance into  a  new  temple.  This  had  become  a  very 
personal  matter,  and  the  black  Tamil  professor  seemed 
embarrassed  at  my  situation,  for  he  did  not  anticipate 


^l.rl 


Hindu  Temples 


219 


it,  but  he  had  no  influence  whatever  with  the  Brah- 
mans  who  despised  his  low  caste. 

I  maintained  my  good  humour  and  tried  to  reason 
again  with  the  unreasonable  priest.  He  allowed  all  the 
bulls  and  cows  and  goats  and  ignorant  rabble,  regard- 
less of  character,  to  enter  and  roam  about  at  their  in- 
clination, but  I  was  not  allowed  to  cross  the  threshold. 
I  could  see  no  rational  ground  for  such  discrimination 
against  an  American  in  favour  of  Hindu  beasts  and  a 
promiscuous  crowd  of  natives,  and  I  told  them  so,  but 
we  had  a  different  point  of  view  and  they  did  not  seem 
to  realize  the  absurdity  of  the  situation  as  I  did,  for 
the  law  of  caste  and  custom  controlled  their  mand,  and 
they  could  not  think  differently.  Adjoining  the  great 
temple  was  one  of  the  largest  and  most  attractive  of 
all  the  cars  that  I  had  seen,  with  magnificent  carvings, 
and  which  was  drawn  through  the  city  during  the 
great  religious  festival. 

At  Little  Conjeverim  I  found  another  temple  that 
was  so  exclusive  and  holy  that  the  presence  of  any 
foreigner  would  Lave  meant  pollution,  although  the 
animals  and  naughty-nautch  girls  were  not  excluded, 
but  the  latter  were  considered  as  a  necessary  evil  for 
the  temple  requirements.  Their  faces  were  against 
them,  and  a  shameful  reflection  upon  a  religious  insti- 
tution, and  so  were  some  of  the  religious  carvings,  and 
which  would  not  be  tolerated  in  any  of  the  frequented 
cities  on  the  main  line  of  travel ;  for  Conjeverim  is  on 
a  branch  road  between  Chingleput  and  Arkonam.  We 
may  easily  infer  the  character  of  the  figures  on  the 
interior  of  that  temple  and  enclosure  from  the  shock- 
ing immoral  specimens  that  are  exposed  to  the  public 
gaze  some  rods  away.    These  are  carved  upon  the  pil- 


220  The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 


^fl 


«!  'r- 


Ian  of  a  portico  of  recent  construction  and  which 
serves  as  an  ante-approach  to  the  temple,  a  sort  of  pub- 
lic announcement  or  exhibition  of  the  performances 
that  take  place  within  the  temple  itself.  The  exposure 
for  sale  in  any  public  place  of  a  photograph  of  these 
grossly  indecent  figures  would  mean  punishment  in  the 
state  prison,  in  accordance  with  the  law,  but  they  are 
allowed  to  the  Hindus  for  r  ligious  uses  at  their  tem- 
ples. 

No  worse  indictment  could  be  brought  against  Hin- 
duism and  which  is  so  exacting  respecting  caste,  but 
lacks  moral  discrimination  in  the  selection  of  symbols 
for  their  temple  decorations,  for  many  are  grossly  im- 
moral and  disgusting.  Thr  debasing  moral  effect  of 
these  salacious  figures  upon  the  minds  of  the  young 
who  stood  about  was  apparent,  for  they  could  only 
engender  lascivious  thoughts,  and  it  passes  our  com- 
prehension to  understand  the  motive  of  the  leaders  in 
sculpturing  such  lewd  representations.  To  say  that 
they  are  images  of  their  deities,  and  only  symbolize 
the  laws  of  procreation  only  makes  bad  worse,  for  it 
is  unspeakably  vile  to  make  these  public  exposures  of 
such  figures.  It  was  a  great  relief  to  turn  to  that 
most  attractive  structure  in  the  city,  the  hall  of  pil- 
lars, with  their  remarkable  sculptured  figures  of  mounted 
horses  and  hippogriffs,  for  the  carvings  show  the  skilled 
workmen.  Fortunately  they  are  well  lighted,  for  the 
sides  of  the  building  are  open,  and  excellent  photo- 
graphs can  be  taken. 

Whilst  there  are  many  large  and  magnificent  temples 
among  the  Hindus,  the  great  majority  of  the  buildings 
are  small,  but  they  answer  the  purposes  of  Hinduism 
for  there  is  no  congregational  or  associated  worship 


'     f 


(■*■ 


y|;i  i 


"i^f 


^  I 


\      ' 


■<!■ 


i.    I 


Hindu  Temples 


221 


bat  the  chief  object  of  interest  in  the  temple  to  the 
Hinda  is  the  shrine  that  encloses  the  imsrge  of  the  god 
and  where  the  priest  officiates  for  the  people  who  come 
and  go,  spending  but  a  few  moments  before  the  idol  as 
they  bow  and  perhaps  utter  a  prayer  and  then  hand  an 
offering  to  the  priest 

The  priest,  who  must  be  a  Brahman,  is  practically 
the  worshipper  for  the  people  and  serves  them  as  a 
proxy,  and  so  thorough  a  substitute  does  he  become 
that  the  interested  persons  need  not  necessarily  remain 
to  witness  the  ceremony.  The  priest  rings  the  bell  be- 
fore the  image  to  announce  his  presence,  utters  some 
mantras,  makes  an  offering  of  flowers  and  water  to  the 
deity,  though  they  treat  these  idols  as  though  they 
were  living  beings,  for  they  bathe  that  image,  clothe 
it,  and  serve  it  with  a  meal  in  the  morning,  at  noon 
and  in  the  evening,  and  it  is  put  to  bed.  It  is  also  en- 
tertained with  music  and  dancing.  The  name  of  the 
deity  is  frequently  repeated  by  the  use  of  the  rosary 
which  is  common  among  the  Hindus,  for  they  believe 
there  is  special  merit  in  the  frequent  repetition  of  the 
names  of  the  most  potential  gods  in  their  pantheon. 


IX 


.•J 


THE  VILLAGES 

THE  innamerable  villages  are  the  swarming 
hives  of  humanity  in  India,  for  ninety-five 
per  cent,  of  the  entire  population  of  the 
country  live  in  villages  and  towns  that  are  scattered 
throughout  the  vast  empire,  ami  only  five  per  cent,  of 
the  people  are  found  in  the  cities.  Hence,  the  smaller 
towns  are  of  special  interest,  for  they  have  been  least 
affected  by  modern  civilization,  and  in  many  of  them 
we  see  the  Hindus  as  Hinduism  has  made  them  from 
generation  to  generation,  and  what  they  would  con- 
tinue to  be  without  the  social  and  educational  influence 
of  Christian  civilization.  Ignorance  and  poverty  abound 
in  these  places  that  have  not  been  specially  touched  by 
Western  ideas,  and  the  primitive  character  is  seen  in 
their  simple  dwellings  and  mode  of  life. 

The  poorest  occupy  shanties  that  can  scarcely  be 
designated  as  houses,  for  at  times  there  is  but  one 
room,  enclcjed  by  straw  mats,  suspended  from  slender 
poles,  and  some  mud  hovels  are  built  of  bamboo  cov- 
ered with  mud,  and  this  b  often  spotted  with  the  disks 
of  cow-dung  drying  for  fuel,  and  which  is  an  important 
item  in  the  culinary  department  of  these  very  poor 
people.  The  roof  is  thatched  and  the  majority  of  the 
houses  are  provided  with  several  rooms  and  the  neces- 
sary courtyard,  while  the  better  and  well-to-do  or 
rich  class  have  large  and  comfortable  houses.    It  is 

sss 


The  Village! 


223 


only  distance  that  lends  enchantment  to  these  villages, 
for  the  picturesque  effect  produced  by  a  distant  point 
of  view  vanishes  as  we  approach  them.  There  is  a  same- 
ness, and  little  of  special  interest  in  the  architecture 
and  life  of  the  people  in  the  different  ones  to  relieve 
the  monotony,  for  the  conservatism  of  centuries  char- 
acterizes the  Hindu  who  looks  to  the  pa^t  for  his  ideals 
and  ideas  for  the  future. 

As  the  majority  of  the  houses  are  occupied  by  the 
poor,  there  are  no  luxuries,  nor  even  comforts  beyond 
the  immediate  necessities,  and  furniture  is  most  con- 
spicuous for  its  absence.  There  are  the  few  cheap  rugs 
and  low  stools,  and  string  bed,  and  the  indispensable 
clay  vessels  for  water  and  cooking  utensils,  with  a  pos- 
sible brass  bowl,  and  with  these  the  inventory  of  the 
household  furnishings  of  millions  of  the  poor  is  com- 
plete. But  the  interests  of  the  wife  and  mother  are 
centred  in  that  humble  dwelling  place  as  the  sphere 
of  the  world  in  which  she  lives,  for  her  horizon  of  in- 
terests is  limited.  Hence  she  makes  the  most  of  hei 
situation,  prizing  what  she  has,  and  she  keeps  her 
kitchen  scrupulously  clean,  and  practices  the  strictest 
economy.  Outside  these  limited  apartments  may  be 
found  the  necessary  accompaniments  of  the  old  chum 
and  the  primitive  stone  pestle  and  mortar  for  crushing 
or  "  grinding  "  the  grain. 

This  is  a  plain  picture  of  the  manner  in  which  mil- 
lions of  the  poor  people  live  or  exist  from  year  to  year ; 
and  there  is  an  awful  gulf  between  the  social  fruits  of 
Hinduism  and  Christian  civilization.  Of  course  they 
can  indulge  in  no  luxuries  and  have  neither  inclination 
nor  opportunity  for  the  culture  that  comes  from  educa- 
tion ;  for  the  common  labourer  receives  but  about  five 


224  The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

cents  per  day,  and  the  majority  of  the  poor  cannot 
afford  rice  but  eat  the  commvn  millet.  Fortunately 
the  food  is  much  cheaper  than  in  our  country,  and 
hence  with  an  increased  purchasing  power  of  the  rupee 
for  chean  grain,  and  the  scanty  piece  of  clothing  that 
he  needs,  his  pay  per  day  serves  him  with  the  equivalent 
of  a  half  dollar  for  our  workmg  men.  Besides  his 
humble  dwelling  place  is  given  him  free  of  rent. 
Since  he  is  a  vegetarian  he  is  not  affected  by  the  high 
price  of  meat,  and  he  does  not  support  the  saloon  nor 
smoke  five  cent  cigars. 

In  many  respects  India  is  an  exceedingly  cheap 
country  in  which  to  Uve,  for  the  warm  and  even  hot 
climate  saves  them  aU  the  increased  expense  of  North- 
em  climates  in  providing  the  necessary  furs  and  heavy 
clothing.  So  far  as  the  men  are  concerned  a  narrow 
strip  of  white  cotton  cloth  twisted  around  then-  lorn 
satisfies  aU  the  climatic  as  well  as  social  requirements 
for  the  greater  part  of  the  year,  and  hence  their  ex- 
pense of  clothing  is  reduced  to  a  minimum;  about 
three-fourths  of  the  people  wear  no  shoes  and  even  the 
rich  go  without  the  aristocratic  stockings  except  m 
cases  where  they  have  adopted  European  customs. 

The  majority  of  the  inhabitants  of  Southern  India,  the 
Deccan  and  Bengal,  including  even  the  poor  Brahmans, 
go  without  a  head  covering.  They  pay  no  tailor  prices 
to  make  their  clothes,  according  to  the  strict  regulation 
faU  or  spring  style,  and  cast  away  those  that  are  out 
of  the  latest  fashion,  but  they  buy  several  yards  or 
more  of  cheap  white  cotton  cloth,  and  without  needle, 
thread  or  button,  each  ties  it  about  his  loin,  just  as  his 
ancestors  did  many  generations  ago,  and  he  wears  it 
with  daily  washings  until  it  is  worn  out.    Even  the 


''J 


"WK^ 


The  Villages 


225 


women  are  saved  much  expense  and  embarrassment  be- 
cause of  their  disregard  to  the  style  of  the  new  spring 
or  fall  hat,  for  they  never  wear  one,  and  so  far  as  the 
tailor-made  suit  is  concerned  they  never  conceive  of  it 

Their  dress  is  never  out  of  style,  for  there  is  no  such 
thing  as  a  new  style,  except  in  the  new  and  cheaper 
material  that  has  been  furnished  by  modem  manu- 
facture. Hence  they  suffer  little  exhaustion  from 
being  fitted  by  the  dressmaker  and  they  suffer  no  dis- 
appointment and  loss  of  patience  from  misfits.  With 
the  exception  of  the  simple  bodice  about  the  waist, 
every  woman  clothes  herself  and  wholly  independent 
of  any  dressmaker,  for  the  long  Sari  remains  uncut  as 
when  she  bought  it,  for  she  orde  '  the  necessary 
number  of  yards  that  were  out  from  Liio  original  piece, 
and  this  she  arranges  gracefully  about  her  pers  a,  in 
the  same  manner  and  style  as  her  great-grandmother 
wore  it,  and  which  is  most  admirably  adapted  to  all 
the  requirements  of  their  climate  and  life. 

However,  with  strictest  economy  so  poor  are  the 
millions  with  their  scanty  income  that  they  eke  out  a 
miserable  existence,  barely  sufficient  at  times  to  keep 
body  and  soul  together.  Sir  William  Hunter,  after 
many  years  of  observation  among  them,  declares  that 
"  Forty  millions  of  the  people  never  at  any  time  had 
enough  food  to  eat — and  that  seventy  millions  of  Indian 
peasants  are  in  a  condition  of  hopeless  poverty."  No 
doubt  the  fearful  mortality  is  largely  due  to  their 
extreme  poverty,  for  being  underfed,  the  system,  being 
weakened  from  lack  of  safficient  nourishment,  becomes 
more  susceptible  to  disease,  and  an  easy  prey  when 
pestilence  comes,  for  being  below  the  normal  strength 
they  are  unable  to  resist  and  yield  the  more  readily 


226  The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

to  disease  as  well  as  that  scourge  of  the  bubonic 
plague. 

Their  poverty  is  due  to  various  causes  and  for  some 
of  which  they  themselves  are  directly  responsible. 
Were  they  to  employ  the  more  modem  and  scientific 
methods  of  our  Western  farmers  there  would  be  a 
large  increase  in  the  food  supply.  The  arable  land  with 
proper  cultivation  would  yield  far  richer  returns,  and 
gradually  they  are  introducing  in  places  improved 
methods  and  implements  for  farming,  and  with  encour- 
aging results,  although  the  process  of  such  innovations 
are  slow.  The  fertile  plains  readily  yield  two  crops 
annually  and  there  is  an  abundant  variety  of  cereals, 
vegetables  and  fruits.  The  farmers  suffer  greatly  from 
famines  owing  to  severe  droughts  from  lack  of  rain,  and 
which  are  likely  to  continue  because  of  the  peculiar 
climatic  conditions  of  the  country,  although  increased 
irrigation  has  done  much  to  meet  the  diflBculty. 

In  accordance  with  ancient  custom  they  continue  the 
wasteful  expenditure  for  marriages  and  funerals,  never 
reasoning  whether  they  can  afford  it,  but  blindly  yield- 
ing to  hereditary  custom,  though  it  often  involves  them 
in  bankruptcy  and  great  suffering  for  many  months  and 
even  years  to  come.  The  poor  and  ignorant  peasants 
pride  themselves  in  the  observance  of  the  law  of  cus- 
tom, though  they  become  hopelessly  impoverished  by 
such  an  unreasonable  act,  and  their  only  compensation 
is  the  strange  satisfaction  of  having  assumed  the  sem- 
blance at  least  of  aristocracy. 

The  native  passion  for  jewelry  leads  to  excessive  ex- 
travagance even  among  the  poor,  for  whilst  much  of 
the  jewelry  is  of  the  baser  sort,  still  it  is  an  expendi- 
ture that  amounts  to  considerable  in  the  aggregate 


The  Villages 


"7 


which  should  be  spent  for  bread  and  the  necessities  of 
life  and  especially  with  a  preference  for  a  little  educa- 
tion as  an  adornment  of  the  mind.  Never  have  I  seen 
such  an  extravagant  and  barbaric  display  of  jewelry  as 
that  which  is  worn  by  the  Hindu  women  of  Southern 
India,  for  they  wear  it  from  the  crown  of  their  head 
to  the  end  of  their  fingers  and  toes. 

On  that  remarkable  festival  day  in  Madura  they 
wore  a  number  of  pieces  on  their  head,  including  the 
crown,  frontlet,  another  piece  at  the  back  of  the  head 
and  two  more  on  either  side,  two  for  each  ear,  one  for 
the  lobe  and  another  set  under  the  run  of  the  upper 
part,  another  on  each  side  of  the  nose,  and  the  third 
suspended  from  the  septum  of  the  nose,  which  must 
be  very  annoying  and  much  in  the  way  when  they 
suffer  from  a  severe  attack  of  influenza.  Then  there 
were  the  conspicuous  necklace,  the  armlets  and  bracelets 
and  many  rings  on  their  fingers,  the  girdle  about  the 
waist  and  the  immense  rings  about  the  ankles,  some  of 
them  weighing  a  pound  each,  and  most  uncomfortable 
were  it  not  for  the  overmastering  vanity  of  the  wearers 
and  which  seemed  to  make  them  oblivious  to  the  dis- 
comfort A  number  of  them  even  wore  very  elaborate 
rings  on  their  toes,  but  no  amount  of  jewelry  could 
make  such  feet  attractive,  and  the  rings  only  tended  to 
make  the  monstrosities  the  more  conspicuous. 

I  could  allow  them  to  indulge  their  excessive  fond- 
ness  for  jewelry  even  to  the  adornment  of  the  pedal  ex- 
tremities, for  there  is  no  accounting  for  taste,  but  I  had 
a  feeling  of  revulsion  when  I  witnessed  for  the  first 
time  that  most  barbarous  and  i*epulsive  fashion  of  slit- 
ting the  lobe  of  the  woman's  ear,  and  then  forcing  a 
cylindrical   ornament   or  block,  resembling  a  spool, 


m 


m  '^ 


i  i; 


II 


if 

if.'. 


l^ 


m 


■f  :■» 


228  The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

through  the  opening  and  which  becomes  lengthened  to 
the  extent  of  sevenil  inches  in  extreme  cases.    I  have 
seen  the  pendant  of  gold,  silver  or  some  baser  metal 
suspended  from  this  greatly  distended  lobe  that  vras 
supported  by  two  mere  shreds  of  flesh,  a  most  revolt- 
ing practice;  yet  these  natives  said  it  was  beautiful, 
but  that  is  proof  sufficient  that  they  lack  refmement 
and  culture,  and  that  they  have  no  eye  for  the  beauti- 
ful.   The  degradation  of  woman,  at  least  among  the 
lower  class,  was  evident  in  this  barbarous  custom.   The 
beautiful  and  expressive  lobe  of  the  ear  is  an  important 
feature  of  the  graceful  setting  for  the  face,  but  the 
Hindus  had  horribly  disfigured  it  into  a  most  repulsive 
object  that  excited  my  commiseration  for  these  unfor- 
tunate women  who  had  been  made  hideous  in  their  old 

age. 

Among  the  various  industries  of  the  towns  and  vil- 
lages none  interested  me  more  than  that  of  the  potter, 
for  o^en  he  displayed  exquisite  skill  with  his  primitive 
potter's  wheel,  that  was  as  plain  as  those  usevl  in 
ancient  Egypt,  and  yet  he  easily  converted  the  shape- 
less but  pliable  lump  of  clay  into  useful  and  graceful 
vessels.    The  village  potter  is  an  absolute  necessity  in 
the  East  where  his  wares  have  been  indispensable  from 
time  immemorial,  and  one  of  the  common  and  universal 
mounds  of  remains  about  the  sites  of  ancient  cities  in 
oriental  countries  is  that  of  broken  pottery,  the  vast 
heaps  of  ruins  composed  of  the  fragments  of  these  frail 
vessels  of  clay ;  and  could  they  speak,  how  much  they 
would  tell  of  the  gossip  of  the  domestic  life  of  the  peo- 
ple.   In  fact  many  fragments  do  speak,  for  of ter  men 
in  need  of  better  material  used  these  pieces  instead  of 
parchment  or  papyrus,  and  many  important  inscriptions 


'.I 


The  Villages 


229 


have  been  copied  from  the  ostraca  of  ancient  Egypt.  I 
looked  in  vain  among  the  potters  of  India  to  see  them 
making  vessels  with  the  hands  alone,  and  without  the 
use  of  the  wheel  as  I  saw  among  the  Samoans,  although 
Buoh  examples  may  exist.  Thus  the  ancient  Egyptians 
and  Etruscans  made  their  earliest  pottery  as  the  abun- 
dant examples  in  their  countries  and  museums  show. 

The  barber  is  one  of  the  ubiquitous  and  easily  recog- 
nized functionaries  in  India,  although  his  place  of  busi- 
ness is  not  stationary  and  designated  by  the  conspicu- 
ous bright  coloured  barber's  pole.  The  poor  village 
barber  is  very  poor,  and  he  has  no  tonsorial  parlour  and 
easy-cushioned  chair  for  his  customers,  but  he  is  gener- 
ally of  a  peripatetic  character,  as  well  as  indispensable 
to  every  man,  for  no  one  shaves  himself,  and  the  men 
know  nothing  of  the  luxury  and  time-saving  element 
that  we  find  in  using  the  safety  razor  at  home,  and  at 
our  personal  convenience,  and  where  we  are  never 
obliged  to  wait  for  the  "  next  one  "  ahead  of  us.  The 
Hindus  enjoy  no  such  liberties  nor  conveniences,  for 
that  would  be  most  heterodox  and  a  gross  violation  of 
custom,  the  thought  of  which  would  not  be  tolerated, 
and  hence  the  progressive  Hindu,  whilst  remaining 
orthodox,  cannot  introduce  such  a  boon  into  his  home. 
Hence  he  goes  out-of-doors  to  meet  the  barber  as  he 
walks  through  the  streets  for  his  regular  customers  and 
sits  in  the  open  upon  a  plain  low  stool  without  a  back, 
and  with  his  face  towards  the  barber,  who  shaves  ?  ^s 
head  as  well  as  his  face,  cuts  his  nails  and  cracks  his 
joints.  The  reason  for  doing  this  work  in  a  place  open- 
ing on  the  street  or  under  a  shed  or  tree  is  to  avoid 
the  pollution  that  would  come  to  the  home  should  any 
of  the  hairs  or  pieces  of  nails  fall  upon  the  floor.    The 


PI 


230   The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

barbers  receive  but  a  pittance,  less  than  ours  receive  in 
tips,  but  the  power  of  custom  keeps  them  from  strikes. 
The  shoemaker  is  a  cobbler  and  when  I  saw  the  rude 
and  clumsy  shoes  that  he  made  I  did  not  wonder  that 
so  many  preferred  to  go  barefooted,  for  whether  from 
necessity  or  from  choice,  there  was  little  comfort  in 
wearing  such  hard  shoes.  However  we  cannot  expect 
the  cobbler  to  do  skilled  work  with  the  rude  tools  at 
his  disposal.  He  seems  to  follow  his  trade  without 
taste  or  ambition  to  improve  upon  the  past,  and  he  has 
none  of  the  interest  and  ideals  expressed  in  the 
doggerel: 

"  If  I  were  a  cobbler,  it  would  be  my  pride, 
The  best  of  all  cobblers  to  be." 

The  same  might  be  said  of  the  blacksmith  and  car- 
penter,  and  for  similar  reasons.  Because  of  the  uni- 
versal passion  for  jewelry  and  the  excessive  demand  by 
the  rich  also,  it  is  not  strange  that  the  jeweller  has  often 
excelled  in  his  special  art,  and  yet  let  no  one  for  the 
mere  sake  of  sentiment  boast  unduly  of  his  work,  for  it 
is  primitive  looking,  and  was  greatly  surpassed  by  the 
ancient  Greeks  and  Etruscans,  with  whom  the  best 
Hindu  jewelry  cannot  be  compared. 

The  weaver's  loom  is  seen  about  the  villages,  but  it 
is  generally  of  the  most  primitive  character  imaginable. 
All  was  in  the  open  for  inspection,  in  some  lane  or 
retired  place,  and  if  possible  where  the  simple  frame 
could  be  suspended  between  two  trees.  The  warp  was 
prepared  by  "  setting  up  rows  of  sticks  for  supports  and 
winding  thread  between  them."  The  cloth  was  very 
narrow  and  the  process  was  a  very  slow  one,  and  must 
have  been  made  at  starvation  wages  to  sell  it  at  such  low 


The  Villages 


23» 


figareB.  The  dyers  used  bright  coloors  and  mnch  went 
to  waste  upon  the  groond.  There  are  nearly  six  mil- 
lions of  weavers  using  the  hand  looms,  although  the 
large  mill  looms  have  been  introduced  in  the  cities. 

We  had  often  heard  that  the  sun  was  the  white  man's 
enemy  in  India,  and  so  painfully  did  we  realize  it  that 
often  we  wished  that  there  had  been  no  sunshine  during 
the  period  of  our  travels.  I  have  a  vivid  recollection 
of  an  excessively  warm  experience  that  I  never  wish 
to  repeat.  It  was  on  a  Monday  and  I  had  spoken 
several  times  in  Guntur  on  the  preceding  day,  and  then 
travelled  part  of  the  night  so  as  to  have  an  early  drive 
to  an  interesting  old  rock  hewn  temple. 

Any  archaeologist  would  have  been  interested  in  that 
remarkable  temple  which  will  endure  with  the  everlast- 
ing hills,  and  after  spending  some  profitable  hours  of 
careful  scrutiny,  we  left  it  with  regret  to  return  to 
Mangalgeri  It  was  after  the  noon  hour,  and  the  Indian 
sun  was  reaching  its  strength.  Our  antiquated  carriage 
had  no  cover  to  protect  us,  and  the  slow  ponies  had  no 
ambition,  and  the  ignorant  driver  no  capacity  for  think- 
ing, and  he  carelessly  ran  against  a  huge  ant  hill,  and 
the  frail  harness  broke.  There  we  sat  in  the  sizzling 
burning  sun  whilst  he  made  the  repairs  after  the  most 
primitive  fashion,  and  then  with  much  good  advice  ho 
started  the  ramshackle  vehicle  once  more.  But  he  had 
not  gone  a  great  distance  when  that  stupid  fellow  struck 
another  obstruction  with  more  disastrous  results,  for 
that  rotten  harness  was  beyond  repair. 

Imagine  the  despair  of  our  situation  when,  against  all 
the  prescribed  safeguards  for  foreigners,  we  found  that 
we  were  obliged  to  walk,  through  the  hottest  portion  of 
the  day,  back  to  the  bungalow,  a  distance  of  nearly  two 


I!  i, 


I.  * 


232  The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

hoars.  The  soorohing  sun  was  overhead  and  the  ther- 
mometer registered  more  than  100°  in  the  shade 
on  that  day,  but  unfortunately  vre  were  not  in  the  shade, 
and  none  was  in  sight ;  so  we  were  compelled  to  walk 
across  the  hot  desert  waste  without  a  single  attraction 
in  the  landscape,  and  with  not  a  single  tree  nor  rock  to 
cast  a  cool  shadow.  There  was  no  breeze,  but  only  the 
heat  that  seemed  to  have  come  from  a  furnace,  and 
never  was  I  in  so  great  need  of  an  automobile,  and 
longed  so  greatly  for  one. 

We  tried  to  think  pleasant  thoughts  so  as  not  to 
increase  our  temperature  by  worry,  and  we  trudged 
slowly  along,  though  at  a  serious  risk,  but  we  had  no 
alternative.  It  was  a  great  relief  when  we  reached  the 
bungalow,  and  after  a  brief  rest  found  that  we  did  not 
suffer  from  the  much  dreaded  effects  of  that  unfortnnate 
exposure.  I  pity  every  missionary  who  has  had  similar 
experiences. 


^  ' 


THE  SACRED  BOOKS  OF  THE  HINDUS 

INASMUCH  as  the  religious  teachings  of  the  Hindus 
have  determined  their  thought  and  life  through 
the  many  centuries  of  their  history,  we  must 
naturally  have  an  interest  in  their  Sacred  Books  from 
which  they  have  derived  their  belie&  and  practices,  for 
nothing  is  so  potent  as  our  thoughts ;  in  them  we  live 
and  move  and  have  our  being,  and  the  character  of 
them  shapes  our  daily  life  and  destiny,  for  as  a  man 
thinks  within  himself  so  he  is  and  does  and  lives.  The 
thoughts  become  the  dominant  cause,  whilst  the  out- 
ward life  and  deeds  are  the  fruits ;  for  thinking  pre- 
cedes the  doing,  and  the  deeds  correspond  wi^  the 
character  of  the  thoughts. 

That  which  interested  me  most  in  India  was  not  the 
primitive  character  of  their  dress  and  culinary  depart- 
ment, for  these  are  adapted  to  their  needs  and  the 
peculiar  conditions  of  their  climate  and  civilization.  To 
appreciate  the  distinctive  feature  and  power  of  Hinduism 
over  the  lives  of  the  many  millions  for  centuries,  we 
must  go  deeper  and  farther  back  to  the  religious  sources 
that  have  made  the  Hindus  the  unique  people  of  the 
world,  and  the  most  excessively  religious  of  any  nation. 
In  their  Sacred  Books  you  will  find  many  rules  for 
sleeping  in  accordance  with  strict  religious  requirements. 
They  have  inflexible  rules  for  eating,  and  they  are 
justifiable  in  their  insistenc^  upon  always  eating  with 
the  lingers  of  the  right  hand  because  freer  from  defile- 

233 


I 


4 

.i 


-  ■  t 


234  The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

ment  They  have  their  teble  mannen  religiously 
enjoined,  and  from  which  there  must  be  no  departure, 
although  we  would  not  approve  of  some  of  the  etiquette, 
for  they  exclude  the  wife  and  mother  from  the  soouil 
feUowship  of  the  table  when  eating  thtir  meals.  The 
»♦  Uws  of  Manu  "  are  very  expUcit  on  this  important  ex- 
clusive relation,  for  in  Chapter  IV  we  read  the  com- 
mandment for  men :  "  Let  him  not  eat  in  the  company 
of  his  wife,  nor  look  at  her  whUe  she  eats,  sneezes, 

yawns,  etc." 

There  is  an  evident  lack  of  domestic  sociability  among 
the  strictly  orthodox  Hindu  who  observes  the  "  Laws  of 
Manu"  on  this  point.  Another  imperative  injunction 
for  man  from  this  Blue  Book  of  Hinduism  is:  "Let 
him  not  step  over  a  rope  to  which  a  calf  is  tied,  let  him 
not  run  when  it  rains,  and  let  him  not  look  at  his  own 
image  in  the  water."  , 

»  Let  him  keep  his  right  arm  uncovered  m  a  place 
where  a  sacred  fire  is  kept,  in  a  cow-pen,  in  the  pres- 
ence of  Brahmanas,  during  the  private  recitation  of  the 
Veda,  and  at  meals."  , ,.      v 

"  Let  him  not  interrupt  a  cow  who  is  suckUng  her 
calf,  nor  teU  anybody  of  it.    A  wise  man,  if  he  sws  a 
rainbow  in  the  sky,  must  not  point  it  out  to  anybody. 
Beasons  not  given. 

«  Let  hhn  not  give  to  a  Sudra  advice,  nor  the  rem- 
nants of  his  meals,  nor  food  oflfered  to  the  gods ;  nor 
let  him  explain  the  sacred  law  to  such  a  man,  nor  im- 
pose upon  him  a  penance." 

"  For  he  who  explains  the  sacred  law  to  a  Sudra,  or 
dictates  to  him  a  penance,  will  sink  together  with  that 
man  into  the  hell  called  Asamvrita."  (A  most  horri- 
ble and  loathsome  hell  it  is.) 


ir.t   ! 


▼  Wl 


The  Sacred  Books  of  the  Hindus 


235 


We  often  bear  unqualified  and  extravagant  state- 
ments made  in  reference  to  the  lofty  spiiitual  and 
ethical  teachings  of  the  Sacred  Books  as  though  they 
even  surpassed  our  own  Sacred  Scriptures,  and  hence 
I  have  made  certain  selections  from  the  volumes  of 
translations  made  under  the  supervision  of  Max  Muller. 
In  his  preface  to  the  "  Sacred  Books  of  the  East "  (in 
his  volume  on  the  Upanishads),  he  gives  what  he  re- 
garded as  a  necessary  caution  acd  from  which  I  quote 
the  following : 

"Readers  who  have  been  led  to  believe  that  the 
'  Vedas '  of  the  Ancient  Brahmans,  the  '  Avesta '  of 
the  Zoroastrians,  the  'Tripitaka'  of  the  Buddhists,  the 
'  Kings '  of  Confucius,  or  the  '  Koran '  of  Mohammed 
are  books  full  of  primeval  wisdom  and  religious  en- 
thusiasm, or  at  least  of  sound  and  simple  moral  teach- 
ing, will  be  disappointed  on  consulting  these  volumes. 
Looking  at  many  of  the  books  that  have  lately  been 
published  on  the  religions  of  the  ancient  world,  I  do 
not  wonder  that  such  a  belief  should  have  been  raised ; 
but  I  have  long  felt  that  it  was  high  time  to  dispel  such 
illusions." 

Some  scholars  *'  are  more  inclined,  after  they  have 
disinterred  from  a  heap  of  rubbish  some  solitary  frag- 
ments of  pure  gold,  to  exhibit  these  treasures  only  than 
to  display  all  the  refuse  from  which  they  had  to  ex- 
tract them.  .  .  .  True  love  does  not  ignore  all 
faults  and  failings.  ...  To  watch  in  the  Sacred 
Books  of  the  East  the  dawn  of  the  religious  conscious- 
ness of  man  must  always  remain  one  of  the  most  in- 
spiring and  hallowing  sights  in  the  whole  history  of  the 
world.  .  .  .  What  we  want  here,  aa  everywhere 
else,  is  the  truth,  and  if  the  whole  truth  must  be  told. 


« 

%' 


'f. 


t  -A|  i 


236  The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

it  it  that,  however  radiant  the  dawn  of  religious 
thought,  it  ia  not  without  iu  dark  clouda,  ita  chilUng 
oolda,  ita  noxioui  vapours." 

♦♦  We  must  have  thoroughly  faithful  transitions  of 
their  Sacred  Books.  Extract*  wiU  no  longer  suffloe." 
We  cannot  know  India  from  the  "  Taj  Mahl,"  nor  Hin- 
duism from  the  anthologies  made  by  partisans. 

We  find  in  the  Sacred  Books  of  the  East  "  by  the 
tide  of  so  much  that  is  fresh,  natural,  simple,  beautiful 
and  true,  so  much  that  is  not  only  unmeaning,  artificial 
and  silly,  l^ut  even  hideous  and  repellent." 

"  It  cannot  bo  too  strongly  stoted  that  the  chief,  and  m 
many  cases  the  only  interest  of  the  Sacred  Books  of  the 
East  is  historical ;  that  much  in  them  is  extremely  chUd- 
ish,  tedious,  if  not  repulsive ;  and  that  no  one  but  the 
historian  will  be  able  to  understand  the  important  les- 
sons which  they  teach."  , 

In  his  "  Gilford  Lectures"  he  refers  to  Chnstiani.y 
which  "  if  only  properly  understood,  it  is  infinitely 
superior  to  all  other  religions."  Lanman,  the  8a;  ;nt 
scholar  of  Harvard,  after  quoting  Emerson's  paraphrase 
of  the  Katha  Upanishads,  adds  in  closing:  "What  a 
prospect,  dark  and  void,  this  supreme  spirit  before  whom 
aU  human  endeavour,  all  noble  ambition,  aU  hope,  aU 
love,  is  blighted !  What  a  contrast,  a  relief,  when  we 
turn  from  this  to  the  teachings  of  the  gentle  Naza- 

rene!"  .  .       * 

The  "  Rig  Veda  "  is  the  oldest  and  of  great  interest  as 
it  preserves  the  religious  creed  of  an  ancient  people 
as  well  as  the  varying  types  of  the  oldest  civilization 
of  the  Aryans  that  entered  India  at  least  several 
thousand  ears  ago.  The  «Rig  Veda"  contains  one 
thousand  hymns  or  poems  that  express  the  thought  and 


The  Sacred  Books  of  the  Hindus 


237 


religioiu  belief  of  a  primitive  people  who  were  con* 
Boioiu  of  their  own  limitations,  and  their  dependence 
upon  Buperhumari  aid.  These  hymns  and  prayers  are 
addressed  to  their  various  gods,  arranged  in  ten  books, 
and  are  about  equal  in  matter  to  the  Iliad  and 
Odyssey  of  Homer.  This  work  occupiec  the  first  place 
in  age  and  importance  among  all  the  Vedas,  although 
Sansiirit  scholars  are  not  agreed  as  to  their  age,  but 
the  oldest  have  generally  been  assigned  to  a  period  of 
2000  or  1500  B.  c,  and  others  belong  to  a  much  mrr.. 
recent  date,  although  Kaegi  holds  that  the  coUec.  •  >i 
was  closed  as  early  as  1 500  b.  0. 

According  to  Bloomfield,  "the  hymns  of  the"\  ij 
are  to  a  considerable  degree  cloudy,  turgid  and  my.  ■ 
tic;  taken  by  themselves  they  will  never  yield  to  a 
clear  picture  of  human  life  that  fits  any  time  or  place.'* 
They  give  us  an  insight  into  the  Vedio  Pantheon  of 
that  age  when  it  was  composed  of  the  personified 
powers  of  nature,  and  when  the  priests  and  people 
were  worshippers  of  the  phenomena  of  nature.  Those 
mysterious  forces  that  came  from  the  sun,  wind 
and  rain  had  not  disclosed  their  secret  energy  to  that 
primitive  people,  who  recognized  the  presence  of  divin- 
ity in  every  unusual  object.  There  is  much  of  the 
quid  pro  quo  spirit  that  characterizes  the  mutual  re- 
lation between  the  worshippers  and  theur  gods.  The 
former  bring  their  oblations  of  butter,  with  cakes  and 
rice,  and  the  latter  accept  them  in  consideration  of 
certain  returns,  for  they  were  given  with  the  expecta- 
tion of  receiving  children,  health,  food,  cattle  and  rain. 

Whilst  many  of  them  express  the  simplicity  of  the 
outpouring  of  the  soul  in  times  of  its  deepest  conscious- 
ness of  the  need  of  supreme  powers,  they  are  character- 


238  The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

iMd  on  the  whole,  as  Kaegi  states,  by  «  monotony  and 
endless  repetition,  since  almost  all  the  hymns  are  vo- 
nations  of  the  same  theme  » ;  but  they  are  full  of  ab- 
sorbing  interest  to  every  one  who  is  concerned  m 
tracing  back  the  stream  of  humamty  to  the  ongm  of 
religio^  thought  and  Uterature.  The  followmg  are 
from  Kaegi's  translations:  "If  I  asked  again  and 
again,  thelver  victorious  Indra  fulfilled  my  prayers. 
Here  is  an  extravagant  prayer  addressed  to  Indra : 


(< 


Grant  m^  O  God,  the  highest  bwt  of  treasures, 
A  jndgini  mind,  prosperity  abiding, 
Richel  abundant,  lasting  health  of  body. 
The  grace  of  eloquence,  and  days  propmous. 

A  querulous  one  dares  utter  the  following :  "If  you 
were  a  mortal  and  I  immortal,  I  would  not  abandon 
you  to  misfortune  nor  poverty ;  my  singers  woidd  not 
be  needy  nor  in  evU  case,  not  lacking  hi.  deserts. 

Indra  was  "the  most  celebrated  god  of  the  Vedic 
period,-the  real  national  god  of  the  Indians,"  the  all 
^nquering  victor  in  battle,  and  invincible  m  power. 

«  Through  fear  of  thee  upon  the  earth  Js  shaken 
E'en  the  immovable,  the  ether,-all  things, 
The  earth,  the  heavens,  mouutains,  forejte  tarembte , 
The  firm  foundation  trembles  at  thy  gomg. 

To  that  people  Indra  was  a  great  god,  even  the 
Creator  and  upholder  of  things  in  heaven  and  on  earth, 
although  not  always  free  from  contradictions  and  con- 
fusion of  ideas.  ^  , 

In  answer  to  the  lack  of  faith  in  Indra  among  men 
as  expressed  in  one  of  the  prayers,  the  god  himsell 
deigns  to  reply  to  the  doubting  worshipper: 


The  Sacred  Books  of  the  Hindus         239 

"  I  am,  O  Singer,  look  on  me,  here  am  I, 
And  I  am  greater  than  all  living  creatarea. 
The  service  of  the  sacred  rite  delights  me, 
Destroying,  I  creation  hurl  to  ruin." 

Another  hymn  begins : 

"  Praise  the  great  praiseworthy  Indra, 
Baler  of  the  world,  with  singing. 
Him  the  richest  man,  the  victor. 
All  the  mortals,  all  the  peoples, 
Ever  in  their  hymns  praise  Indra, 
Him  in  songs  and  him  in  measures." 

Eaegi  adds  that  "  the  relatively  few  hymns  to  Ya- 
runa  belong  to  the  most  exalted  portions  of  the  Veda. 
They  recall  especially  the  tone  of  the  Psalms  and  the 
language  of  the  Bible  in  general  They  picture  the 
god  as  the  all-wise  creator,  preserver  and  regent  of  the 
worlds,  the  omniscient  protector  of  the  good  and 
avenger  of  the  evil." 

'*  His  works  bear  witness  to  his  might  and  wisdom. 
Who  &shioned  firm  supports  for  earth  and  heaven, 
Who  set  on  high  the  firmament  nplifted. 
And  fixed  the  stars  and  spread  out  earth's  expanses. 

"  He  mingles  with  the  clouds  his  cooling  breezes. 
He  gave  the  cow  her  milk,  the  horse  his  spirit, 
Put  wisdom  in  the  heart,  in  clouds  the  lightning. 
The  Sun  in  heaven,  on  the  rock  the  Soma. 

''  The  Sun's  sure  courses  Varuna  appointed. 
He  sent  the  streaming  waters  flowing  onward, 
The  miehty  path  of  days  he  first  created 
And  rules  them  as  the  riders  guide  their  horses." 

In  the  following  stanzas  from  a  hymn  from  the 
"AtharvsrVeda,"  translated  by  Professor  Jackson  of 


I 


240  The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

Columbia,  we  have  a  remarkable  example  of  their  be- 
lief  in  the  divine  omniscience  and  ommpresence : 

"  This  earth  is  aU  King  Vamna's  PM^jo"' „. 
iSi  yoSer  lofty  sky  ^i^h  boundanes  d^nt. 
The  «i»an'B  twato  are  but  fhe  loins  of  Varan ; 
Yet  in  the  tiniest  drop  he  Ueth  hidden. 

"  What  though  one  flee  beyond  the  fiirtb^  heaven 
One  could  not  even  there  ^pe  King  Vwun, 
ma  aniea  come  hither  forth  from  out  of  heaven, 
wfthffthdi  tSouaand  eyes  the  earth  surveying. 

"  Kiair  Varana  discerns  all  this  that  lieth 
SSrween  the  firmaments  and  that  beyond  them. 
Thrvl^  winklings  of  men's  eyes  are  numbered  ; 
He  reckons  aU,  as  doth  the  dice  a  player." 

There  is  also  a  humorous  vein  in  some  portions  of  the 
"  Rig  Veda"  as  the  following  shows. 

««  Poet  am  I ;  Papa's  a  quack  ; 
Mama  the  upper  millstone  turna  5 
Whate'er  our  aims— like  chasing  cows— 
We  all  are  hunting  after  wealth. 

The  monotheistic  conception  ^s  most  prominent  per- 
haps in  the  well-known  Creation  hymn,  although  there 
is  much  uncertainty  and  want  of  information  m  the 
mind  of  its  author  as  the  following  stanzas  show : 

«'  Then  there  was  neither  being  nor  not-being, 
The  atmosphere  was  not,  nor  sky  above  »\.,  , 
What  covered  all  1  and  where t  by  what  protected! 
Was  there  the  fathomless  abyss  of  waters  t 


^SSteiH^A 


The  Sacred  Books  of  the  Hindus         241 

«  Tiua  neither  death  nor  deathlessress  existed  ; 
Of  day  and  night  there  was  yet  no  distinction, 
Alone  that  One  breathed  calmly,  self-anpporting, 
Other  than  It  was  none,  nor  aught  above  It. 

"  Tlien  for  the  first  time  there  arose  desire. 
Which  was  the  primal  germ  of  mind,  within  it. 
And  sages,  searching  in  their  heart,  discovered 
In  Nothing  the  connecting  bond  of  Being. 

"  Who  is  it  knows  t    Who  here  can  tell  us  sorely 
lYom  wb '.^  and  bow  this  universe  has  risen  f 
And  whet'-er  not  till  after  it  the  gods  lived  t 
Who  then  can  know  from  what  it  has  arisen  f 

"  The  source  from  which  this  universe  has  risen 
And  whether  it  was  r^ade,  or  uncreated. 
He  only  knows,  who  from  the  highest  heaven 
Rules,  the  all-seeing  Lord, — or  does  not  He  know  f  " 


There  is  no  such  tone  of  uncertainty  in  the  creation 
account  given  in  the  Book  of  Genesis. 

The  following  are  quotations  from  the  hymns  of  the 
Maruts,  the  Mars  of  the  Romans,  for  the  etymology 
shows  that  originally  they  were  identical : 

"  They  make  the  rocks  tremble,  they  tear  asunder 
the  kings  of  the  forest.  Come  on,  Maruts,  like  mad- 
men, ye  gods,  with  your  whole  tribe." 

"Come  hither,  Maruts,  on  yonr  chariots  charged 
with  lightning,  resounding  with  beautiful  songs,  stored 
with  spears  and  winged  with  horses !  Fly  to  us  like 
birds,  and  your  best  food.     You  mighty  one." 

Whilst  they  pray  much  for  great  wealth,  cattle  and 
offspring,  they  were  conscious  of  sin  and  prayed  for 
forgiveness  as  the  following  prayer  to  Agni  shows : 

"  Whatever  sin,  O  youngest  god,  we  have  committed 


■A-' 


■t  Ti 


m 


r! 


« 


^  \ 


242   The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

against  thee  in  thoughtlessnesB,  men  as  we  axe,  make 
thou  us  sinless  before  AditL  Release  us  from  every 
guilt  on  aU  sides,  O  Agni  I  Even  from  great  guilt,  O 
Agni,  from  the  prison  of  gods  and  of  mortals-  let  us, 
thy  friends,  never  be  harmed;  grant  luck  and  wealth 

to  kith  and  kin." 

There  is  no  assurance  from  the  god  that  the  prayer 
wUl  be  answered.  The  prayer  is  for  forgiveness  and 
temporal  blessings,  but  not  for  personal  righteousness, 
for  moral  and  spiritual  development.  There  is  contin- 
ual repetition  not  only  of  ideas  but  often  of  the  very 
language,  and  the  desire  for  temporal  riches  is  upper- 
most :  "  Desirous  of  riches,  we  deN-ise  to-day  an  effect- 
ive song  of  praise,  of  Agni,  the  heaven-touching  god. 
The  priests  make  thee  grow,  O  Agni.  Bestow  thou  on 
us  abundance  of  heroes." 

The  following  hymn  to  the  unknown  God  has  sub- 
lime conceptions  of  deity  and  shows  the  earnest  long- 
ings of  the  soul  after  God. 

"  To  the  Unknown  God — Hymn  121 
"  In  the  beginning  there  arose  the  Golden 
Child  ;  as  soon  as  born,  he  alone  was  the  lord 
of  all  that  is.  He  stablished  the  earth  and 
this  heaven :— Who  is  the  God  to  whom  we 
shall  offer  sacrifice  ? 

''■lie  who  gives  hreath,  he  who  gives 
strength,  whose  command  all  the  bright  gods 
revere,  whose  shadow  is  immortality,  whose 
shadow  U  death  :— Who  is  the  God  to  whom 
we  shall  offer  sacrifice  ? 

"  He  who  through  his  might  became  the  sole 
king  of  the  bmiihiny  and  twinkUng  world, 
who  governs  all  this,  man  and  beast :— Who 
is  the  God  to  whom  we  shall  offer  sacrifice  ? 


'  i 


^ater  'i   S 


i!: 


The  Sacred  Books  of  the  Hindus         243 

**  Se  through  whose  miaht  these  snowy 
mountains  are,  and  the  sea,  they  say,  with  the 
distant  river,  he  of  whom  these  regions  are 
indeed  the  two  arms :— Who  is  the  God  to 
whom  we  shall  offer  sacrifice  ? 

"i?«  through  whom  the  a/mfvl  heaven  and 
the  earth  were  made  fast,  he  through  whom 
the  ether  was  stablished,  and  the  firmament ; 
he  who  measured  the  air  in  the  sky : — ^Who  is 
the  God  to  whom  we  shall  offer  sacrifice  ? 

"2?«J  to  whom  heaven  and  earth,  standing 
firm  by  his  will,  look  up,  trembling  in  their 
mind;  he  over  whom  the  risen  sun  shines 
forth : — Who  is  the  Gkxl  to  whom  we  shall 
offer  sacrifice  ? 

"  When  the  great  waters  went  everywhere, 
holding  the  germ  and  Generating  light,  then 
there  arose  from  them  the  (sole)  breath  of  the 
gods : — Who  is  the  God  to  whom  we  shall  of- 
fer sacrifice  ? 

"  He  who  by  his  might  looked  even  over  the 
waters  which  neld  power  (the  germ)  and  gen- 
erated the  sacrifice  (light),  he  who  alone  is 
God  above  all  gods : — Who  is  the  God  to  whom 
we  shall  offer  sacrifice  ? 

«  Mav  he  not  hurt  us,  he  who  is  the  b^»t- 
ter  of  the  earth,  or  he,  the  righteous,  who  oe- 
got  the  heaven ;  he  who  also  oegot  the  bright 
and  mighty  waters: — Who  is  the  God  to 
whom  we  snail  offer  sacrifice  ? 

"  (Pragopati,  no  other  than  thou  embracest 
all  these  created  things.  May  that  be  ours 
which  we  desire  when  sarrificing  to  thee. 
May  we  be  lords  of  wealth !) " 


Max  MilUer  in  his  lectures  on  the  "  Yedanta  Philos- 
ophy," referring  to  the  ancient  Vedic  hynms,  speaks  of 


'■  ^1 


hi' 


244  The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

the  incipient  traoes  of  this  yearning  after  one  God. 
*'  Eaoh  God  is  for  the  time  implored  as  Supreme.  .  .  . 
These  were  indeed  giant  strides  and  we  can  watch  them 
dearly  in  different  parts  of  the  Veda  from  the  simplest 
invocations  of  the  unknown  agents  behind  sun  and 
moon,  heaven  and  earth,  to  the  discovery  of  the  One 
God,  the  maker  of  heaven  and  earth,  the  Loi-d  and 
Father,  and  lastly  to  faith  in  one  Divine  Essence 
Brahma." 

Unfortunately  there  was  a  deterioration  in  their  sub- 
lime and  at  times  monotheistic  conceptions  of  deity, 
and  which  Professor  Hopkins  has  well  expressed  in 
this  brief  form  :  "  In  the  Vedic  hymns  man  fears  the 
gods  and  unagines  God.  In  the  Brahmanas  man  sub- 
dues the  gods  and  fears  God.  In  the  Upanishads  man 
ignores  gods  and  becomes  God.  Such  is  the  theosophio 
relations  between  the  three  periods  represented  by  the 
first  Vedio  collection,  the  ritualistic  Brahmanas,  and  the 
philosophical  treatises  called  the  Upanishads."  This  is 
a  striking  summing  up,  and  in  the  most  concrete  form, 
of  the  marked  characteristic  teachings  of  each  of  the 
famous  Vedas,  and  great  was  the  descent  in  the  place 
assigned  to  deity. 

From  the  « Apastamba,— Aphorisms  on  the  Sacred 
Law  of  Aryan  Hindus,"  translated  by  Buhler,  we  cite 
the  following : 

"  As  it  is  sinful  to  touch  a  Kandala,  so  it  is  also  sin- 
ful to  speak  to  him  or  to  look  at  him.  If  a  Sudm 
listens  intentionally  to  a  recitation  of  the  Veda,  his 
ears  shall  be  filled  with  molten  tin  or  lac.  If  he  re- 
cites Vedic  texts,  his  tongue  shall  be  cut  out.  If  he 
remembers  them,  his  body  shall  be  split  in  twain.  If 
he  assumes  a  position  equal  to  that  of  the  twice  bom 


(4  --  1 

I'.  •   i 


The  Sacred  Books  of  the  Hindus        24; 

men,  in  sitting,  in  lying  down,  in  conversation  on  the 
road,  he  shall  undergo  corporal  panishment." 

So  sensitive  is  the  ceremonial  parity  of  the  twice 
bom  to  the  polluting  presence  of  the  Sudra  that  he  was 
even  forbidden  to  read  the  Veda  "  in  the  neighbour- 
hood of  a  Sudra."  *'  He  who  in  anger  raises  his  hand 
or  a  weapon  against  a  Brahman  will  be  banished  from 
heaven  for  one  hundred  years.  If  he  strikes,  he  will 
lose  heaven  for  one  thousand  years." 

It  is  not  a  sin  to  kill  in  battle  except ''  those  who 
declare  themselves  to  be  cows  or  Brahmans.  Persons 
who  declare  themselves  to  be  cows  or  Brahmans  become 
inviolate  on  account  of  the  sacred  character  of  the 
beings  they  impersonate."  **  Historical  instances  are 
narrated  where  conquered  kings  were  forced  to  appear 
before  their  victors  holding  grass  in  their  mouths  or 
dancing  like  peacocks  in  order  to  save  their  lives." 
"  For  killing  a  flamingo,  a  peacock,  a  crow,  an  owl,  a 
frog,  a  muskrat,  a  dog,  etc.,  the  offender  shall  pay  the 
same  fine  as  for  the  murder  of  a  Sudra ; "  that  is,  he 
shall  give  ten  cows.  "  If  a  Brahman  dies  with  the  food 
of  a  Sudra  in  his  stomach  he  will  become  a  village  pig 
in  his  next  life  or  be  bom  in  the  family  of  a  Sudra." 
Various  rites  are  prescribed  by  which  a  man  quickly 
attains  the  wishes  of  his  heart.  Some  of  them  are  too 
loathsome  for  these  pages,  but  one  of  the  clean  ones  is 
this :  "  Avoiding  to  sleep  in  the  daytime,  let  him  wor- 
ship cows,  Brahmans,  manes  and  gods." 

"Now  a  Brahman  may  take  four  wives;  a  Sudra 
one.  No  one  should  marry  a  woman  whose  hair  is 
decidedly  red." 

The  duties  of  a  woman  are  given  as  seventeen  in 
number,  ajid  "  after  the  death  of  her  husband,  to  pre- 


:■?•**»  1 


I, 


» 


'•f 

« 

i 

i 


246  The  God  Juggeniaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

■erve  her  chastity,  or  to  ascend  the  (funeral)  pile,  after 
him,"  for  "the  self-immolation  of  widows  (suttee)  is  a 
specially  meritorious  act,  and  not  obligatory."  Among 
the  many  crimes  mentioned,  and  some  of  them  are  most 
abominable,  we  find  the  minor  ones  mentioned  also, 
even  that  of  "kiUing  worms  or  insects."  Of  course 
they  never  enjoyed  fishing,  but  how  strange  that  men 
should  become  such  fanatics  as  to  prohibit  kiUing  of 
worms  and  insects,  but  should  at  the  same  time 
encourage  the  burning  to  death  of  widows.  Such 
Sacred  Books  cannot  claim  a  divine  inspiration,  for 
such  inhuman  discriminations  are  not  divine. 

They  have  a  number  of  horrible  hells  and  in  the 
grossness  of  revolting  descriptions  they  far  surpass  those 
that  are  depicted  upon  the  temples  or  town-halls  of 
China,  and  certain  cathedrals  of  Southern  Europe. 
There  are  expUcit  specifications  for  the  various  penalties 
that  are  inflicted  for  certain  offenses :  "  For  those  who 
have  committed  a  crime  effecting  loss  of  caste,  the 
penalty  is  one  thousand  yearsinhelL  For  six  specified 
crimes  they  must  «  suffer  terrible  pangs  "  after  hfe  and 
in  hell  "they  are  devoured  by  dogs  and  jackals,  by 
hawks,  crows,  herons,  cranes  and  other  animals-ser- 

pents,  and  scorpions."  ,.  u   *v,  ♦ 

Here  foUow  the  unmentionables  in  English  that 
they  are  compelled  to  eat.  "  Here  enveloped  in  terrible 
darkness,  they  are  devoured  by  worms  and  jackals  and 
other  horrible  animals  having  flames  in  their  mox.t  1. 
They  are  tormented  by  frosts,  walking  in  "  unspeakable 
horrors;  "departed  spirits  eat  one  another,  driven  to 
distraction  by  hunger,  beaten,  suspended  by  ropes,  shot 
with  arrows  or  cut  in  pieces,  walking  upon  thorns, 
bodies  encircled  with  snakes,  tormented  with  grmding 


.1  •  . 


The  Sacred  Books  of  the  Hindus         247 

maohines."  "  Now  after  having  saffwed  the  torments 
inflioted  in  the  hells,  the  eyil  doers  pass  into  animal 
bodies.  Mortal  sinners  enter  the  bodies  of  worms  or 
insects.  Minor  offenders  enter  the  bodies  of  the  birds. 
Those  who  have  committed  a  crime  causing  defilement 
(i.  e.,  ceremonial)  enter  the  bodies  of  low  caste  men, 
such  as  Kandalas,  who  may  not  be  touched. 

**  One  who  has  stolen  grain  becomes  a  rat.  One  who 
has  stolen  perfumes  becomes  a  musk-rat.  One  who  has 
stolen  a  woman  becomes  a  bear.  Women  who  have 
committed  similar  thefts  receive  the  same  ignominious 
punishment ;  they  become  females  to  those  male  animals. 
A  criminal  in  the  highest  degree  shall  have  leprosy 
—one  who  is  a  Brahman,  pulmonary  consumption.  A 
killer  of  a  cow,  blindness.  A  usurer  becomes  epileptic. 
Thus,  according  to  their  particular  acts  are  men  born, 
marked  by  evil  signs,  sick,  blind,  hump-backed,  halting, 
one-eyed.  Others  as  dwarfs,  or  deaf,  or  dumb,  feeble 
bodied,  etc.  Therefore  must  penances  be  performed 
by  all  means."  The  foregoing  list  contains  the  most  in- 
teresting examples  from  this  Sacred  Book,  and  about 
two  hundred  and  fifty  penances  are  given  for  the 
offenders. 

Among  the  three  hundred  and  thirty  duties  of  a 
householder  there  are  some  commendable  ones,  but  not 
all,  as  those  that  forbid  the  man  to  eat  with  his  wife, 
or  to  look  at  his  wife  while  she  is  eating. 

In  the  chapter  on  "  Criminal  and  Civil  Law  "  there  are 
many  wise  and  just  provisions  for  honesty  and  right- 
eousness but  a  fine  is  imposed  for  killing  birds,  fish  and 
insects,  but  none  for  burning  widows  alive.  One  of 
the  severe  ordeals  compelled  the  one  charged  with  guilt 
to  carry  in  his  hands  a  heavy  red-hot  iron  ball  some 


k 


MICaOCOPY   RfSOlUTION   TIST  CHART 

(ANSI  and  ISO  TEST  CHART  No.  2) 


MS,  . 


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2.0 

1.8 


A  APPLIED  IfvMGE     Inc 

^^  t6S3  East  Moin   Street 

TJi  Rochester.  New  York        14609       USA 

iSB  (716)  482  -  0300  -  Phone 

^B  (716)  288  -  5989  -  Fox 


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248  The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

distance,  and  should  his  hands  be  burnt  in  the  least  he 
was  adjudged  guilty. 

Under  the  head  of  funeral  ceremonies  it  is  said  of  the 
deceased :  "  Whether  he  has  become  a  god,  or  stays  in 
hell,  or  has  entered  the  body  of  an  animal,  or  of  a  human 
being,  he  will  receive  Sraddha  offered  to  hun  by  his 
relatives.  He  wiU  not  die  before  his  time  has  come, 
even  though  he  has  been  pierced  by  one  thousand  shafts ; 
he  will  not  live  after  his  time  is  out,  even  though  he 
has  only  been  touched  by  the  point  of  a  blade  of  Kusa 

grass. 

«  As  a  man  puts  on  new  clothes  in  this  world,  throwmg 
aside  those  which  he  formerly  wore,  even  so  the  self  of 
man  puts  on  new  bodies,  which  are  in  accordance  with 
his  acts  in  a  former  life." 

The  special  thoughts  given  for  the  contemplation  of 
the  ascetic  are  not  elevating  but  pessimistic,  with  a 
contempt  for  the  body.  However,  there  is  a  detailed 
account  of  the  many  different  parts  of  the  body,  ex- 
tending into  the  millions ;  for  the  atoms  of  the  hairs  of 
the  body  aggregate  546,700,000,  whilst  "  the  hair  holes 
of  hair  of  the  beard  and  of  the  head  "  are  placed  at 

300,000. 

On  several  occasions  I  have  referred  to  the  Swamis 
who  came  to  this  country  from  India,  of  whom  Viveka- 
nanda  and  Abhedananda  have  been  the  chief  past- 
masters  of  their  art  in  expounding  their  Vedanta  philos- 
ophy that  God  and  the  soul  are  one,  and  all  the  world 
a  delusive  dream.  The  former  says  in  his  "Juana 
Yoga  " :  "  Talk  not  about  impurity,  but  tell  the  mind 
wo  are  pure.  We  have  hypnotized  ourselves  into  this 
thought  that  we  are  little,  that  we  are  bom  and  that 
we  are  going  to  die,  and  into  living  in  a  state  of  con- 


4 

.•4 


The  Sacred  Books  of  the  Hindus        249 


stant  fear.  Why  do  we  see  wickedness  ?  There  was 
a  stamp  of  a  tree  in  the  dark  at  night  A  thief  came 
that  way  and  said:  * Tliat  is  a  policeman.'  A  young 
man  waiting  for  his  beloved  came  that  way  and 
thought  it  was  his  sweetheart  A  child  who  had 
been  told  ghost  stories  came  out  and  began  to  shriek 
that  it  was  a  ghost.  But  it  was  a  stump  of  a  tree. 
We  see  the  world  as  we  are.  Put  on  the  table  a  bag 
of  gold  and  let  a  baby  be  here.  Let  a  thief  come  and 
take  the  gold.  Would  the  baby  know  it  was  stolen  ? 
That  which  we  have  inside  we  see  outside.  The  baby 
has  no  thief  inside  and  sees  no  thief  outside.  So  with 
all  knowledge.  Do  not  talk  of  wickedness  of  the  world 
and  all  its  sins.  Weep  that  you  are  bound  to  see 
wickedness  yet" 

How  the  evil  doers  would  welcome  such  a  delusion 
among  honest  and  decent  people,  for  then  there  would 
be  no  arrests,  no  trials  and  public  exposures,  no  fines 
and  imprisonment ;  but  the  paradise  which  has  been 
regained  would  be  lost.  The  Swami  himself  has  been 
completely  hypnotized  by  his  own  delusive  philosophy 
so  ^t  he  mistakes  sophistry  for  reasoning,  and  asks 
men  to  deny  their  senses  as  well  as  their  intellectual 
and  moral  consciousness,  and  to  brand  conscience  as  an 
unscnipulous,  irrepressible  and  unmitigated  liar  and 
which  we  must  argue  out  of  existence,  as  having  no 
reality  beyond  our  hypnotic  state  and  which  has  been 
self-imposed. 

The  Bibles  of  the  world  as  well  as  our  moral  convic- 
tions, laws  and  courts,  make  sin  a  real  and  terrible  fact, 
one  of  the  deepest  and  ineradicable  realities  of  our 
being,  which  has  caused  the  greatest  individual  and 
national  sorrows  that  have  come  upon  mankind.    It 


250  The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

is  all  nonsense  to  suppose  that  the  human  mind  by 
any  trick  of  any  sort  of  legerdemain  with  words  can 
persuade  itself  that  all  sin  and  evil  doing,  all  theft  and 
crime  and  wickedness  are  merely  subjective,  or  mental 
delusion,  and  without  moral  quality  or  any  actual 
reality.  The  fact  is  that  the  delusion  only  exists  in  the 
mind  of  the  clever  Swami,  for  according  to  his  own 
illustration  it  was  a  thief  that  stole  the  bag  of  gold, 
and  that  the  adult  owner  would  suffer  the  loss  even 
though  the  babe  had  not  the  sense  to  realize  it.  More- 
over, a  policeman  is  universally  recognized  as  a  stem 
reality  and  not  an  illusion  or  a  mere  inanimate  stump 
and  hence  all  evil  doers  fear  him,  for  policemen  do  arrest 
thieves  and  they  are  put  in  real  prisons  and  not  into 
imaginary  ones,  for  such  an  illusory  imprisonment 
would  only  be  conceivable  for  idiots  and  the  hypnotized 
mind  of  the  Swami.  Our  jails  are  constructed  out  of 
solid  material,  with  iron  doors,  and  if  the  Swamis  who 
follow  the  teachings  of  their  revered  leader,  Viveka- 
nq.Tid«,  have  persuaded  themselves  that  these  are  all 
illusion,  they  might  easily  make  a  practical  test 

In  no  country  is  the  exietence  of  evil  more  clearly 
recognized  than  in  India  with  its  ascetics  and  5,000,000 
religious  mendicants,  and  the  innumerable  terrible  hells 
for  the  offenders.  The  Swami's  dreamland  has  no 
place  in  Hinduism.  Unfortunately  he  succeeded  in 
hypnotizing  some  Americans  during  his  stay  in  our 
country  but  a  visit  to  India  would  disillusion  them,  for 
they  would  behold  the  awful  reality,  for  the  appalling 
condition  of  the  people  would  make  them  feel  that  evil 
has  a  real  existence  and  that  the  world  is  not  a  dream. 
His  ideal  theories  attracted  some  who  were  persuaded 
that  India  was  a  veritable  paradise  but  if  there  is  a 


The  Sacred  Books  of  the  Hindus 


25» 


paradise  in  India,  it  is  Paradise  lost !  However,  he  is 
not  expected  to  recognize  the  discrimination,  for  he 
declares  that  **  Good  and  bad  are  never  two  different 
things ;  they  are  one  and  the  same ;  the  difference  is  not 
one  of  kind,  bat  of  degree."  Hence  there  can  be  no 
essence  in  virtue  and  no  ethical  quality,  and  he  knows 
it,  for  he  declares  that  **  to  talk  of  evil  and  misery  is 
nonsense,  because  they  do  not  exist  outside." 

More  startling  statements  follow  in  his  declaration 
that  the  Yedanta  seeks  to  teach  *'  the  deification  of  the 
world.  See  God  in  everything.  It  is  He  in  the  child, 
in  the  wife,  etc.  He  in  the  good.  He  in  the  bad.  He  in 
the  murderer.  He  in  the  sin,  and  He  in  the  sinner,  He 
in  life  and  He  in  death.  A  tremendous  proposal  in- 
deed ! "  I  shoidd  say  so ;  but  what  a  confusion  of 
thought,  and  jugglery  of  words,  with  high  sounding 
terms,  fiut  he  obscures  thought  and  confounds  reason 
by  compounding  the  most  diverse  and  contradictory 
ideas.  He  aspires  still  farther  to  reach  the  goal  of  his 
mental  delusion  as  he  exhorts  his  hearers :  *'  Tell  your 
own  minds  I  am  He,  I  am  He.  Let  it  ring  day  and 
night  in  your  minds  like  a  song,  and  at  the  point 
of  death  declare :  I  am  He." 

He  furnishes  additional  evidence  that  he  is  in  an 
illusive  state  when  he  boldly  asserts  that  each  one  should 
repeat  for  himself  the  following :  "  I  am  the  birthless, 
the  deathless,  the  blissful,  the  omniscient,  the  omnipo- 
tent, ever-glorious  soul."  Of  course  there  is  no  prayer, 
for  that  would  be  to  recognize  an  imaginary  being. 
"  Where  is  there  a  more  practical  Qod  than  Him  I  see 
before  me?  For  you  are  He,  the  Omninresent  Gk)d 
Almighty,  the  Soul  of  your  Souls.  If  you  are  not  Gk>d 
there  never  was  any  God,  and  never  will  be.    You  are 


1 1^ 


5      .!■ 


m 

1.-1 1 


252   The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

Qod  and  so  am  I ;  who  obeys  whom  ?  Who  worships 
whom  ?  You  are  the  highest  temple  of  Qod.  I  would 
rather  worship  you  than  any  temple  or  any  image  or 
Bible.  What  is  more  practical  than  worshipping  you  ? 
I  see  you,  feel  you  and  know  you  are  Qod.  The 
Mohammedan  says  there  is  no  Ood  but  Allah.  The 
Vedanta  says  there  is  no  Ood  but  man." 

Again  he  says :  "  Who  knows  whether  the  ant  is 
greater  than  man,  or  man  than  the  ant  ?  Who  can 
prove  one  way  or  the  other  ?  "  "  It  is  the  greatest  of 
all  lies  that  we  are  mere  men ;  we  are  the  Qod  of  the 
universa  Every  man  and  woman  is  the  palpable, 
blissful,  living  and  only  Ood."  "  The  worst  lie  that  you 
ever  told  yourself  is  that  you  were  bom  a  sinner."  "  If 
you  are  really  pure  how  do  you  see  the  impure,  for 
what  is  within  is  without.  We  cannot  see  impurity 
without  having  it  first  inside.  This  is  one  of  the 
practical  sides  of  Yedanta.'*  What  a  trifling  with 
moral  values  and  with  universal  discriminations  between 
morality  and  vice  or  righteousness  and  i  nrighteousness. 
We  can  see  drunkenness  without  being  intoxicated  our- 
selves. The  fact  is  that  whilst  this  unique  Swami 
befooled  many  people  he  had  little  regard  for  the 
statement  of  facts  for  he  declared  that  "  in  India  there 
are  said  to  be  three  hundred  millions  of  Yedantists," 
although  he  knew  when  he  made  that  statement  that 
the  entire  Hindu  population  of  India  at  that  time  was 
then  less  than  two  hundred  millions. 

However,  such  slight  discrepancies  in  the  statement 
of  facts  do  not  disturb  this  Yedantist  for  it  is  a  char- 
acteristic of  his  teachings,  as  he  states,  that  "  we  had 
better  remember  here  also  that,  through  the  Vedanta 
philosophy,  there  is  no  such  thing  as  good  and  bad; 


The  Sacred  Books  of  the  Hindus        253 

they  are  not  two  di£Ferent  things ;  the  same  thing  is 
good  or  bad ;  the  diflference  is  only  in  degree,  and  that 
we  see  to  be  an  actual  fact"    This  is  a  sample  of  the 
logic  by  which  he  proves  his  facts:   "The  fire  that 
warms  us  would  also  consume  us."    He  should  have 
no  difficulty  whatever   in  proving  the  existence  of 
square  circles,  and  white  lampblack,  for  he  identifies 
and  harmonizes  the  most  contradictory  ethical  terms 
and   qualities,  and   transforms   them   in   his  potent 
alembic,  for  he  says :  "  All  the  powers  in  the  universe 
are  already  ours.    The  Vedanta  says  the  man  who  does 
not  believe  in  himself  is  an  atheist.    We  who  are  fools 
cry  that  we  are  weak ;  we  who  are  fools  cry  that  we 
are  impure.    It  recognizes  no  sin ;  it  recognizes  error 
and  the  greatest  error,  says  the  Vedanta,  is  to  say  you 
are  weak,  and  a  sinner.    Instead  of  telling  men  they 
are  sinners,  the  Vedanta  takes  the  opposite  stand  and 
says  you  are  pure  and  perfect,  and  all  you  call  sin 
does  not  belong  to  you.    Millions  of  years  have  passed 
since  man  was  here  and  yet  but  one  infinitesimal  part 
of  his   power   has  been  manifested."    "Who  cares 
whether  there  is  such  a  thing  as  heaven  or  hell,  who 
cares  if  there  be  a  soul  or  not  ?    Here  is  the  world  and 
it  is  full  of  misery.    This  world  is  a  delusion ;  it  is  all 
Maya;  whether  you  eat  oflf  the  ground  with  your  fin- 
gers or  dine  from  golden  plates,  etc.,  death  is  the  one 
result ;  it  is  all  the  same.    So  this  Maya  is  what  makes 
the  difference  between  me  and  you,  between  all  animals 
and  man,  between  men  and  gods.    It  is  again  no  theory, 
but  a  statement  of  facts." 

He  presents  no  proof  for  his  assumed  facts,  but  that 
they  may  not  be  true  does  not  disturb  his  philosophy. 
In  his  subtle  metaphysical  speculations  he  ventures 


■1 


i 


■A 


f*'nU 


4 


254  The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

some  bold  and  daring  feats  of  mental  gymnastics  and 
which  afford  the  reader  an  interesting  example  of 
sophistry,  if  not  of  intellectual  exercise.  I  have  given 
BO  much  space  to  him  and  his  teaching  because  of  his 
prominence  as  the  high  priest  of  the  Vedanta  phi- 
losophy, and  many  still  think  that  his  teachings  rival 
the  Gospel.  From  these  quotations  the  reader  may 
judge  for  himself  as  to  the  quality  and  comparative 
value.  In  one  place  he  is  consistent  with  his  phi- 
losophy that  all  is  delusion  or  Maya  when  he  makes 
this  confession ;  "  It  may  be  an  entire  delusion  in  my 
brain.  I  may  be  dreaming  all  the  time.  We  are  walk- 
ing in  the  midst  of  a  dream.  I  am  dreaming  that  I 
am  talking  to  you,  and  that  you  are  listening  to  me. 
No  one  can  prove  it  is  no  dream." 

No  one  knowing  the  Christian  religion  would  confuse 
or  identify  it  with  the  Vedanta  as  taught  by  Swami 
Vivekananda,  who  lost  his  bearings  completely  in  de- 
parting so  far  from  the  ancient  Veda.  He  flounders 
with  words  and  ideas  in  the  Slough  of  Despond,  in  his 
efforts  to  put  forth  an  impersonal  and  godless  Gtod  be- 
yond the  mere  name.  No  one  could  mistake  such  mere 
verbal  combinations  for  the  conception  of  Deity  ex- 
pressed in  our  Bible.  There  is  no  note  of  indefinite- 
ness,  uncertainty,  pessimism  or  despair  in  the  New 
Testament,  and  its  transcendent  teachings  of  God  and 
His  relation  to  the  world  of  humanity  are  without  a 
rival  among  all  the  Sacred  Books  of  the  East.  So  vast 
is  the  difference  that  they  can  be  more  easily  con- 
trasted than  compared. 

John  Fiske  in  olosmg  his  book  on  the  "  Idea  of  God  " 
refers  to  «♦  the  great  Teacher  who  first  brought  men  to 
the  knowledge  of  the  true  God.    The  infinite  and 


I  . 


.11 


The  Sacred  Books  of  the  Hindus         255 

eternal  Power  that  is  manifested  in  every  pulsation 
of  the  universb  is  none  other  than  the  living  God. 
The  events  of  the  universe  are  not  the  work  of  chance, 
neither  are  they  the  outcome  of  blind  necessity.  Prac- 
tically there  is  a  purpose  in  the  world.  .  .  .  When 
from  the  dawn  of  life  we  see  all  things  working  to- 
gether towards  the  evolution  of  the  highest  spiritual 
attributes  of  man,  we  know,  however  the  words  may 
stumble  in  which  we  try  to  say  it,  that  God  is  in  the 
deepest  sense  a  moral  Being.  The  everlasting  source 
of  phenomena  is  none  other  than  the  infinite  Power 
that  makes  for  righteousness.  Thou  canst  not  by 
searching  find  Him  out ;  yet  put  thy  trust  in  Him,  and 
against  thee  the  gates  of  hell  shall  not  prevail,  for 
there  is  neither  wisdom  nor  understanding  nor  counsel 
against  the  Eternal." 

Notwithstanding  the  appalUng  social  and  religious 
condition  of  India  and  the  incomparably  superior  char- 
acter of  our  country,  Marie  Snell,  who  spoke  at  the 
Parliament  of  Religions  in  Chicago,  when  returning  to 
India  gave  them  such  a  dark  picture  of  our  people  that 
we  may  fail  to  recognize  ourselves  in  it,  for  in  speaking 
of  our  spiritual  poverty  she  adds :  «  But  in  spite  of  the 
ignorance  of  the  upper  classes,  and  the  savagery  of  the 
lower  classes,  there  is  a  thirst  for  spiritual  religion ;  a 
thirst  that  Hinduism  and  Swami  Vivekananda  are  go- 
ing to  assuage."  A  gross  slander  of  our  people,  but 
that  is  admissible,  for  it  is  inseparable  from  the  hyper- 
bole of  the  Oriental ;  but  in  the  quotations  from  the 
Swami  I  have  given  his  proposed  panacea  for  assuag- 
ing the  supposed  American  thirst.  That  oracle  has 
signally  failed  in  his  strangely  compounded  panacea, 
and  Swami  Abhedananda  has  continued  the  underta- 


'1  9' 


\'} 


f 


256  The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

king.  Unfortunately  he  fails  to  appreciate  the  moral 
int^prity  of  the  American  miasionaries,  for  he  Bays  of 
them,  in  his  work  on  India :  '*  If  you  wish  to  know  the 
true  condition  of  the  women  in  India,  you  will  have  to 
reject  ninety-nine  per  cent,  of  the  statements  which 
you  hear  from  the  missionaries  or  from  Christian  con- 
verts who  come  from  India."  He  might  as  well  have 
made  a  dean  sweep  of  them  instead  of  making  an  in- 
vidious distinction  of  ninety-nine  per  cent 

However,  he  is  not  infallible  in  his  estimates  nor  un- 
duly guarded  in  his  statements  and  from  what  his 
predecessor  published  in  India  concerning  the  American 
women,  we  would  deduct  at  least  ninety-nine  per  cent,  of 
his  slanderous  indictment,  for  he  stated  that  '^When 
the  American  woman  tries  her  best  to  find  a  husband, 
she  goes  to  all  the  bathing  places  imaginable  and  tries 
all  sorts  of  tricks  to  catch  a  man.  When  she  fails  in 
her  attempts,  she  becomes  what  they  call  an  old  maid, 
and  joins  the  Church.  Some  of  them  become  very 
churchy.  These  church  women  are  twful  fanatics. 
They  are  under  the  thumb  of  the  priests  there.  Be- 
tween them  and  the  priests  they  make  a  hell  of  earth 
and  a  mess  of  religion." 

"  The  Indian  woman  is  very  happy ;  there  is  scarcely 
a  case  of  quarrelling  between  husband  and  wife.  On 
the  other  hand,  in  the  United  States,  where  the  greatest 
liberty  obtains,  scarcely  is  there  a  happy  home.  There 
may  be  some ;  but  the  number  of  unhappy  homes  and 
marriages  is  so  great  that  it  passes  all  description. 
Scarcely  could  I  go  to  a  meeting  but  I  found  three- 
fourths  of  the  women  present  had  turned  out  their 
husbands  and  children.  It  is  so  here  and  everywhere." 
These  slanders  of  the  women  that  he  hypnotized  were 


The  Sacred  Books  of  the  Hindus         257 

published  in  India  in  the  Madrat  MaU^  and  the  Brah. 
manadin  respectively.  Had  he  told  his  admirers  to 
their  faoe  what  he  thought  of  them  they  might  have 
turned  him  out  also ;  at  least  he  would  have  lost  their 
further  attachment 

I  admire  him  for  his  boldness  of  speech  to  his  own 
people  at  Lahore  in  denouncing  certain  evils  and  em- 
phasizing the  vastly  superior  character  of  the  English. 
The  contrast  pkices  them  in  a  bad  light,  for  he  de- 
clared that  "  in  England  there  is  great  love  for  their 
own  people,  for  truth  and  justice,  and  charity  for 
strangers  at  the  door,  and  sympathy  and  rock  bottom 
love.  Where  is  the  heart  here  in  India  to  build  upon  ? 
No  sooner  do  we  start  a  little  joint  stock  company  than 
we  cheat  each  other  and  the  whole  thing  comes  down 
with  a  crash.  Where  are  the  foundations  ?  Ours  is 
only  sand.  There  are  two  curses  here.  First,  our 
weakness ;  second,  our  hatred,  our  dried  up  hearts." 
That  confession  shows  the  fruits  of  Hinduism  after  sev- 
eral thousand  years. 

Swami  Abhedananda  in  his  lectures  on  the  Yedanta 
philosophy,  of  which  we  hear  so  much,  says :  "  Love 
thy  neighbour  as  thyself  was  taught  by  Christ,  but 
why  ?  The  reason  was  not  given  by  Hinduism.  In 
the  Vedas  we  find  the  reason :  Thou  shalt  love  thy 
neighbour  because  thou  art  thy  neighbour  in  spirit. 
Thou  art  one  with  him."  I  have  not  found  that  saying 
in  the  Vedas  but  if  the  Swami  has  read  it  into  the  Vedj  - 
from  the  Gospel,  he  misconceives  the  spirit  of  Christ  and 
gives  a  selfish  reason  for  loving  your  neighbour  and 
which  practically  amounts  to  loving  your  own  self, 
"because  thou  art  thy  neighbour."  But  there  is  no 
such  selfishness  in  the  teaching  of  Christ,  for  we  are  to 


M!.' 


HU 


■)  . 


258  The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

lore  our  fellow  men  beoauM  we  all  are  the  children  of 
Ood  who  is  the  Father  of  us  all,  and  benoe  all  are  my 
brethren,  as  well  as  my  neighbour,  and  the  reason  ia 
plain  why  I  should  love  him. 

The  same  Swami  writing  for  our  people  states  that 
"  Hindu  minds  are  extremely  logical  They  will  not 
accept  anything  that  does  not  harmonize  with  logic  and 
reason.  For  this  reason  Christian  missionaries  meet 
with  the  greatest  opposition  when  they  preach  to  the 
Hindus.  True  religion  according  to  the  Hindus  docs 
not  consist  in  belief  in  a  certain  creed  or  set  of  dogmas, 
but  in  the  attainment  of  God-oonsciousness  through 
spiritual  unfuidment.    It  is  being  and  becoming  Ood." 

I  showed  that  all  this  jugglery  of  words  about  God 
resolves  itself  into  this— that  the  man  hypnotizes  him- 
self into  the  arrogant  belief  that  he  is  the  only  God 
there  is,  and  that  there  is  no  God  beside  man,  as  Yive- 
kananda  declares.  Tet,  amazing  as  it  is,  this  same 
Swami  is  blinding  the  minds  of  some  by  telling  them 
that  "it  is  a  well-known  fact  that  this  religion  of  the 
Hindus  surpasses  Zoroastrianism,  Judaism,  Christianity 
and  Mohammedanism  in  its  antiquity,  grandeur,  sublim- 
ity and,  above  all,  in  its  conception  of  God.  The  God  of 
the  Hindus  is  omnipresent,  omnipotent,  omniscient,  all 
merciful  and  impersonally  personal."  That  is  not  the 
God  of  the  Vedantists.  He  employs  the  word,  but 
without  any  legard  as  to  our  conception  of  God. 
Speaking  of  the  images  and  symbols  used  in  the 
temples,  he  states  that  the  cross  was  a  religious  symbol 
in  India  long  before  Christ  was  bom,  but  tvhat  did  it 
signify  ?  Not  the  Saviour  of  the  world  and  man's  re- 
dempti(  ii.  But  why  did  not  Abhedananda  describe 
some  of  the  other  religious  symbols  about  the  temple  ? 


\ 


The  Sacred  Books  of  the  Hindus         259 

Because  they  were  too  obscene  and  too  strong  an  indict- 
ment of  Hindoiim.  It  also  requir  9  Ilindu  logic  to 
prove  that  the  doctrine  of  the  brotherh.  1  0/  man  and 
to  "love  thy  neighbour  as  thyself "  was  taught  by  the 
Sacred  Books  of  Hinduism  that  enjoined  the  practice 
of  that  inhuman  caste  system.  No  wonder  that  that 
eminent  English  jurist,  Sir  Henry  8.  Maine,  character- 
ised the  Indian  intellect  as  "  elaborately  inaccurate ;  it 
is  supremely  and  deliberately  careless  of  all  precision  in 
magnitude,  number  and  time  ;--it  stood  in  need,  before 
everything  else,  of  stricter  criteria  of  truth." 

National  pride,  ignorance  and  superstition  have 
paralyzed  the  progressive  spirit  in  the  Hindu,  and 
doomed  India  U)  remain  stationary.  As  Monier  Will- 
iams observes :  ••  They  have  believed  the  whole  circle  of 
human  knowledge  to  be  contained  in  Sanskrit  writings. 
To  this  very  day  the  most  bigoted  are  fully  persuaded 
that  to  learn  anything  beyund  the  Shastras  is  quite 
useless."  This  statement  is  justified  by  a  recent  boast 
in  the  orthodox  Indian  Mi,vror :  "  Modem  science  is 
still  very  much  in  its  infancy,  and  has  yet  to  make 
much  greater  progress  to  enable  it  even  to  approach 
one-tenth  part  of  the  ancient  philosophy  of  the  East. 
Our  modem  scientists  are  not  fit  to  hold  a  candle  to 
some  of  these  learned  men  of  our  country,  who  are 
well  versed  in  scientific  teachings  of  the  East ! " 

Strange  that  sane  men  should  be  so  blinded  by  preju- 
dice to  write  contrary  to  the  plainest  facts  in  the  case, 
and  deal  in  such  extravagant  exaggeration.  However, 
such  unqualified  statements  are  in  ke«iping  with  the 
Hindu  mind,  for  "  time  is  measured  by  millions  of  the 
years,  8pax»  by  millions  of  miles,  battles  with  millions 
of  soldiers,  elephants  and  horses,"  reincarnations  or 


iri 
'.11 


ri  / 


m 

■if 


,.    ! 


t 


'5, 

t 

>  ^ 


i 


260  The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

rebirths  by  eight  millions,  and  their  pantheon  of  gods 
by  more  than  three  hundred  millions.  Hence  due  al- 
lowance must  be  made  when  these  Swamis  deal  in 
hyperbole  and  rriticism  of  oitr  missionaries  and  their 
noble  work.  Far  more  reliable  is  the  testimony  of  Sir 
William  Mackworth  Young,  lieutenant-governor  of  the 
Punjab,  who  said  in  a  public  address :  "  I  take  off  my 
hat  to  the  humblest  missionary  that  walks  a  bazaar  in 
India,  because  he  is  leading  a  higher  and  a  grander  life, 
and  doing  a  grander  work,  than  any  other  class  of 
persons  who  are  working  in  India." 

I  have  referred  to  the  two  famous  epics  of  India, 
both  of  which  are  remarkably  popular  and  wield  a 
powerful  influence  over  the  minds  of  the  people,  espe- 
cially in  the  northern  part  where  the  Ramayana  is  their 
Bible,  and  at  the  close  of  the  day  they  gather  in  large 
groups  and  listen  to  favourite  portions  read  to  them. 
But  as  an  illustration  of  the  origin  and  significance  of 
the  bed  of  spikes  mentioned  in  my  first  chapter,  and  in 
order  to  give  the  reader  some  idea  of  the  Homeric-like 
character  of  the  Mahabharata  and  the  nature  of  its 
mo:  1  and  religious  teachings,  I  shall  quote  some  of  the 
most  thrilling  Unes  of  a  story  that  recounts  a  terrific 
struggle  of  eighteen  days  in  prehistoric  times  upon  the 
battle-field  near  Delhi,  where  the  slaughter  was  so 
great  that  the  contending  armies  were  practically  an- 
nihilated. 

It  was  a  war  of  nations  and  the  most  sanguinary  bat- 
tle was  the  prolonged  one  of  eighteen  days,  in  which  the 
commander-in-chief  of  one  army  was  the  ancient  and 
mighty  Bishma.  Among  the  combatants  were  "  god- 
bom  men  of  godlike  grace,"  but  "gallant  godlike 
Arjun,  bom  of  mighty  India,  and  with  Vishnu's  prowess 


•s 


I' 


The  Sacred  Books  of  the  Hindus         261 


filled,"  was  the  rival  of  the  oppoaing  forces.  It  was  a 
war  between  kmsmen  (the  Pandavasand  the  Eauravas), 
and  Krishna  sought  to  dissuade  the  combatants  from 
engaging  in  such  a  fratricidal  war,  and  though  he  pled 
for  peace  and  virtue  his  address  prevailed  not  with  the 
leaders  of  each  hostile  race.  Even  Bishma  followed 
Krishna  in  an  earnest  appeal  to  his  own  king  to  yield 
and  save  his  friends  and  kinsmen, "  for  sons  and  fathers, 
friends  and  brothers  shall  in  mutiud  conflict  die,  kins- 
men slain  by  dearest  kinsmen  shall  upon  the  red  field 
lie.'  But  proud  and  wrathful  Duryodhan  was  ob- 
durate and  unrelenting  and  would  hold  the  empire  un- 
divided, and  he  concluded :  "  Town  nor  village,  mart 
nor  hamlet  (help  us,  righteous  gods  in  heaven! )  nor  spot 
thai  needle's  point  can  cover  shall  not  unto  them  be 
given." 

Often  there  were  scenes  heartrending  for  the  rival 
wanior's  leaders  as  they  beheld  their  revered  elders 
whom  they  loved  as  fathers,  and  many  of  their  dearest 
relatives  and  friends,  but  none  the  less,  the  ten  days 
was  an  awful  slaughter  and  the  scenes  of  carnage 
covered  the  plain  with  the  dead,  for  "  ancient  feud  and 
deathless  hatred  fired  the  Brahman  warrior  bold,"  and 

"  Through  the  day  the  battle  lasted,  and  no  mortal  tongue 
can  tell 

What  unnumbered  chieftains  perished,  and  what  count- 
less soldiers  fell. 

And  the  son  knew  not  his  fother,  and  the  sire  knew  not 
his  son. 

Brother  fought  against  his  brother,  straage  the  deeds  of 
valour  done. 

Horses  fell,  and  shafts  of  chariots  snivered  in  resistless 
shock. 

Hurled  against  the  foeman's  chariots  speeding  like  the 
rolling  rock. 


m 


'\ 


i 


W  '1 


\- 


»i;'5 


i^ 


V 

1 


262   The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

Elephants  by  mahuts  driven  furiously  each  other 
tore,  ^     ,^. 

Trampeting  with  trunks  uplifted,  on  the  serried  soldiers 
bore. 

But  as  fire  consumes  the  forest,  wrathftd  Bishma  slew 
the  foe ; 

None  could  face  his  sounding  chariot  and  his  ever- 
circled  bow. 

Onward  came  the  ancient  warrior,  and  his  path  was 

And  the  broken  Pandav  forces,  crushed  and  driven, 
scattered  fled." 


On  the  morrow  the  defeated  "  Sought  the  aid  of  gallant 
Krishna,"  and 

"  Onward  came  Ealiuaga's  forces  with  the  dark  tornado's 
night, — 
Bose  the  shout  of  warring  nations  surging  to  the  bat- 

Like  the  angry  voice  of  tempest,  and  the  ocean's  troubled 
roar ;  ,,     , 

Darkly  rode  the  tide  of  battle  where  Duryodhan's 
valiant  son 

Strove  against  the  son  of  Arjnn  famed  for  deeds  01 
valour  done — 

Godlike  Krishna  drove  the  coursers  of  resistless  Arjuu's 
car. 

Forthwith  rushed  the  fiery  Arjun  in  his  sounding  bat- 
tle-car, 

And  like  waves  before  him  parted  serried  ranks  of  hos- 
tile war — 

Onward  too  came  forth  the  Eurus  by  the  matchless 
Bishma  led. 

Shouts  arose  and  cries  of  anguish  midst  the  dying  and 
the  dead. 

Vainly  too  the  Pandav  brothers  on  the  peerless  Bishma 
fell ; 

Gods  in  sky  nor  earthly  warriors  Bishma's  might  could 
quell. 


t 
.f 

i 


The  Sacred  Books  of  the  Hindus        263 

Mornio^  sawthetnrn  of  battle ;  Bisbma's  charioteer  was 

dain, 
And  his  coursers  upcontroUed  flew  across  the  reddened 

plain. 
And  with  tears  and  soft  entreaty  thus  the  sad  Doryod- 

han  spoke, 
'Bishma,  on  thy  matchless  powers  Kum's  hopes  and 

fittes  depend. 
Gods  nor  men  with  warlike  Bishma  can  in  field  of  war 

contend.'  " 


Bat  Bishma  replied : — 

<<  <  Vain,  Dnryodhan,  is  this  contest,  and  thy  mighty  host 

is  vain  ; 
Why  with  blood  of  friendly  nations  drench  this  red  and 

reeking  plain  f 
They  mnst  win  who,  strong  in  virtue,  fight  for  virtue's 

stainless  laws. 
Doubly  armed  the  stalwart  warrior  who  is  armed  in 

righteous  cause. 
Eiishna  now  hath  come  to  Arjnn ;  Krishna  drives  his 

battle-car. 
Gods  nor  men  can  face  these  heroes  in  the  field  of 

righteous  war — 
Bishma  still  will   do   his  duty,  and  his  end  it  is 

not  far, 
Then  may  other  chieftains  follow ;  fatal  is  this  Kum 

war.' 
Dawned  a  day  of  mighty  slaughter  and  of  dread  and 

deathful  war. 
Ancient  Bishma  in  his  anger  drove  once  more  his 

sounding  car ; 
Mom  to  noon  and  noon  to  evening  none  could  face  the 

victor's  wrath ; 
Broke  and  shattered,  faint  and  frightened,  Pandavsfled 

before  his  path. 
Still  amidst  the  dead  and  dying  moved  his  proud  re- 
sistless car, 
Till  the  gathering  night  and  darkness  closed  the  horrors 

of  the  war. 


tf 


R# 


U 


Li.     ' 

lift 


a 


iii 


■>|.  .5i 


■f 


264  The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

Good  Yodhiahthir  gazed  with  sorrow  on  the  dark  and 

ghostly  plain, 
Shed  his  tears  on  chiefis  and  warriors  by  the  matchless 

Bishma  slain. 
*  Vain  this  unavailing  battle,  vain  this  woeftil  loss  of 

life; 
'Gainst  the  death-compelling  Bishma  hopeless  is  this 

arduous  strife ; 
As  a  lordly  tasker  tramples  on  a  marsh  of  feeble  reeds, 
Aa  a  foreist  conflagration  on  the  parched  woodland 

feeds, 
Bishma  tramples  on  my  forces  in  his  miehty  battle-car. 
God  nor  mortal  chief  can  face  him  in  me  gory  field  of 

war ; 
Nations  pour  their  life-blood  vainly,  ceaseless  wakes 

the  sound  of  woe. 
yT<w^"»i  stop  this  cruel  carnage ;  unto  woods  once  more 

we  go.' 
ii'^  ,  they  held  a  midnight  council  and  the  chiefis  in 

silence  met, 
And  they  went  to  ancient  Bishma,  love  and  mercy  to 

entreat. 
Bishma  !oved  the  sons  of  Pandu  with  a  father's  loving 

heart. 
But  from  troth  unto  Dnryodhan  righteous  Bishma 

would  not  part 
'  Sons  of  Pandu,'  said  the  chieftain,  '  Prince  Dnryodhan 

is  my  lord ; 
Bishma  is   no  faithless  servant  nor  will  break  his 

plighted  word ; 
Valiant  are  ye  noble  princes,  but  the  chief  is  yet  un- 
born, 
While  I  lead  the  course  of  battle,  who  the  tide  of  war 

can  turn ; 
Listen  more.    With  v.       jdied  foeman,  orwhofialls 

or  takes  to  flight, 
Casts  his  weapons,  craves  for  mercy,  ancient  Bishma 

doth  not  flght. 
Biahma  doth  not  flght  a  rival  who  submits,  fi&tigued  and 

worn  ; 
Bishma  doth  not  fight  the  wounded,  doth  not  fight  a 

troman  &orn."' 


I 


tM 


Kfl 


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I 

m 


iPii 


lis 


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.     '  I 


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''    1., 


1  ■  1 


♦     ^ 


The  Sacred  Books  of  the  Hindus         265 

"Krishna  deep  and  wise,"  by  shrewdneBs  took  ad- 
vantage of  the  solemn  oath  of  virtue  made  by  Bishma, 
and  plotting  his  ruin  said : 


"  'Victim  to  the  cause  of  virtue,  he  himself  hath  showed 

the  way.' 
And  they  faced  the  fiery  Pandavs  peerlets  in  their  war- 
like might 
Long  and  dreadful  raged  the  combat^  darkly  closed  the 

dnbioos  fight ; 
Dust  arose  like  clouds  of  summer,  glistening  darts  like 

lightning  played  ; 
Darksome  grew  the  sky  with  arrows,  thicker  grew  the 

gloomy  shade ; 
Cars  went  down  and  mailed  horsemen,  soldiers  fell  in 

dread  array ; 
Elephants  with  white  tusks  broken  and  with  mangled 

bodies  lay. 
And  like  sun  from  dark  clouds  parting,  Bishma  burst 

on  Arjun's  view, 
And  his  eyes  brave  Aijun  shaded  at  the  awe-inspirine 

sight  *^      * 

Half  he  wished  to  turn  for  shelter  from  the  chief  of 

godlike  might 
But  bold  Krishna  drove  his  chariot  whispered  low  his 

fatal  plan ; 

Aijun  the  young  Sikhandin  in  the  deathful  battle's 
van. 

Bishma  thought  of  word  he  plighted  and  of  oath  that 
he  had  sworn. 

Dropped  his  arms  before  the  warrior  who  a  female  child 
was  born, 

And  the  standard,  which  no  warrior  ever  saw  in  base 
retreat. 

Idly  stood  upon  the  chariot,  threw  its  shade  on  Bishma's 
seat. 

And  the  flagstaff  fell  dissevered  on  the  cmshed  and 
broken  car 

As  from  azure  sky  of  midnight  falls  meteor's  flaming 
siar. 


I 

if- 


'S-  ^  >• 

J- 
i4H 


'i 


I?"  r 


266  The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

True  to  oath  and  anresistiiig,  Bisbma  turned  his  face 

away, 
Turned  and  fell :  the  son  declining  marked  the  closing 

of  the  day. 
Aijan's  keen  and  pointed  arrows  made  the  hero's  dying 

bed. 
Darker  grew  the  gloomy  midnight  and  the  princes  went 

thek  way. 
On  his  bed  of  pointed  arrows  Bishma  lone  and  dying 

toy  1 " 

Bishma  had  been  transfixed  by  such  a  multitude  of 
arrows  that  when  he  fell  from  his  chariot,  instead  of 
falling  prostrate  upon  the  earth,  the  shower  of  arrows 
that  had  pierced  his  body  became  an  "  arrowy  couch  " 
upon  which  he  lay  for  many  days,  during  which  he 
counselled  his  king  to 

"  'End  this  dread  and  deathful  battle  if  thy  stony  heart 

can  grieve ; 
Save  the  chieftains  doomed  to  slaughter,  bid  the  fated 

nations  live.' 
*  Vain,  alas,'  the  voice  of  Bishma  like  the  voice  of  angel 

spoke, 
Hatred  dearer  than  his  life-blood  in  the  proud  Duryod- 

han  woke ! 
'  Aijun  is  thy  brother,  Kama,  end  this  sad  fraternal 

war; 
Seek  not  life-blood  of  thy  brother  nor  against  him  drive 

thy  car.' 
Vain,  alas,'  the  voice  of  Bishma  like  the  voice  of  angel 

spoke. 
Hatred  dearer  than  his  life-blood  in  the  vengeful  Kama 

woke  I " 


\   i 


»  '  s 


ZI 

CHEISTIANITY  VERSUS  OTHEB  WORLD 
RELIGIONS 

TO  judge  the  character,  and  estimate  the  actual 
content  and  inherent  worth  of  the  world  re- 
ligions in  comparison  with  Christianity,  we 
must  not  be  influenced  by  biased  or  preconceived  opinions 
nor  captivated  by  mere  verbal  resemblances,  but  seek 
to  discover  the  exact  meaning  that  was  originally  em- 
bodied in  those  familiar  terms,  for  they  may  not  have 
conveyed  to  the  followers  of  a  particular  religion  the 
same  qualities  that  we  attach  to  them.    Every  day  we 
hear  misused  words,  as  when  some  speak  of  "The 
awfully  sweet  chUd,"  and  that  it  was  "  So  sweet  and 
awfully  nice  in  you  to  write  me,  and  I  thought  I  would 
die  when  I  read  of  the  fun  you  were  having."    We 
have  grown  so  familiar  with  such  abused  language  that 
we  make  due  allowance  for  the  "marvellous"  words 
the  hyperbole  and  confusion  of  terms,  and  we  are  not 
deceived  by  them.    However,  our  reverence  for  sacred 
things  restrains  us  from  such  a  flippant  abuse  of  words 
when  speaking  of  the  Almighty,  and  hence  we  were 
not  prepared  for  the  prevailing  habit  of  the  Swami  to 
whom  I  referred  in  a  preceding  chapter,  and  who  in- 
dulged in  such  a  misuse  of  sacred  terms  that  seemed 
incredible,  for  he  knew  that   they  were   at   direct 
variance  with  the  meaning  that  he  conveyed  to  his 

267 


1    ^ 


l! 


If 


W 


\ 


hi  -ir 


■>l 


I .. 


''!      I 


268   The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

hearen,  and  many  were  misled  by  his  canning  or  un- 
scrupulous jugglery  of  words. 

Whilst  attending  the  Christian  College  in  Calcutta 
he  had  become  thoroughly  familiar  with  the  content 
of  the  leading  theological  terms  embodied  in  Chris- 
tianity and  which  he  employed  subsequently  in  his  pub- 
lic lectures,  although  he  himself  had  eliminated  the 
essence  and  essential  reality  of  the  fundamental  and 
saving  doctrines  of  the  Christian  religion,  and  was 
really  feeding  his  hearers  upon  the  mere  husks  or  out- 
ward verbal  forms  of  Christian  belief.  Many  admirers 
were  won  by  his  clever  sophistry  in  the  misuse  of 
sacred  words,  but  they  would  have  become  disillu- 
sioned had  they  insisted  upon  his  explaining  just  what 
he  meant  by  the  use  of  such  words  as  "  Qod,"  "  Father 
God,"  and  *'  Saviour  God."  Some  at  least  would  have 
been  shocked  and  lost  all  their  attachment  for  him  to 
have  learned  from  him  that  he  even  utterly  repudiated 
the  conception  of  such  a  being  as  a  personal  God,  as 
well  as  the  reality  of  all  that  is  embraced  in  our  most 
cherished  religious  convictions :  our  faith  in  God  as  our 
heavenly  Father  and  Saviour,  with  our  hopes  of  fellow- 
ship with  Him  after  the  close  of  this  earthly  life.  Had 
the  hearers  understood  the  full  significance  of  his  be- 
lief,  they  would  not  have  been  led  astray  by  the  many 
attractive  phrases  abstracted  from  the  Christian  re- 
ligion, but  which  he  had  divested  of  all  their  well- 
known  meaning. 

That  which  is  of  supreme  importance  and  distinctive 
value  in  any  religion  is  its  conception  of  God.  To  get 
at  the  real  essence  and  heart  of  any  particular  religion, 
or  of  the  great  world  religions,  we  must  inquire  into 
their  special  conception  or  teaching  concerning  Gkxl. 


Christianity  Versus  Other  World  Religions    269 

What  kind  of  a  being  i»  He  ?  What  is  His  charMter 
and  attributes  ?  What  is  His  wlaUon  to  man  a^dflS 
purpose  m  creating  him,  and  what  is  to  be  man's  des- 
trny  hereafter  ?  In  other  words,  is  God  an  almighty 
all  loving,  and  merciful  heavenly  Father?  Does  He 
see,  love,  pity,  and  care  for  us,  revealing  Himself  to  us 
not  merely  through  nature,  but  through  the  moral 
faculty  of  conscience,  as  well  as  through  His  Word 

rh  Jrn '^  V  T'^''  "'^"^^  "^  "'^•^  Son  Jesui 
Christ  ?  Does  He  hear  us  when  we  pray  and  foririve 
us  when  we  repent,  and  inspire  us  with  lofty  ideals  ? 

This  comparative  study  of  religions  is  one  of  great 
practical  value  m  view  of  its  bearing  upon  Christiiuutv 

^^^^l^t'  ?  ^^/;!i^^  emphasizing  the  question : 
What  thmk  ye  of  Christ  ?  "  That  question  is  beinir 
forced  upon  us  by  the  trend  of  recent  critical  histori^ 
studies  and  we  cannot  escape  it.  Inasmuch  aa  contrast 
bnngs  out  in  greater  clearness  the  true  values,  we  may 
hope  for  pc^itive  gain  for  Christianity  by  comparing  1^ 
with  the  religions  of  the  Far  Eaat. 

The  paramount  importance  of  religion  is  unquestion- 
able  because  of  the  powerful  influence  that  it  exerts 
over  the  individual  and  the  community  among  every 
people  and  age  since  the  early  dawn  of  histoiyfwhilst 
anthropologists  and  archaologists  have  read  in  ancient 
remains  the  traces  of  evidence  that  confirms  the  pre- 
vaUing  influence  of  reUgion  over  the  minds  and  habits 

„ff  ^L?u°^,."'  P~^*o™  «°»es,  for  it  has  profoundly 
affected  the  hves  of  aU  mankind. 

In  the  comparative  study  of  religions,  the  student  is 
at  times  confined  in  his  researches  to  monumental  re- 
mams,  and  in  many  instances  to  rude  objects  without 
an  inscnption  to  record  the  exact  meaning  that  was 


■'« 


.  ft''. 


'f'v  ' 


:,iLi 


I 


m:S 


±\ 


270  The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

conveyed  to  the  uncivilized  raoee  by  thoee  caltus  de- 
I  ligns.  But  in  India  all  this  is  changed,  tor  the  con- 
'  tents  of  their  Sacred  Books  take  us  far  back  to  a  period 
as  remote  as  fifteen  hundred  yeare  before  the  Christian 
era.  In  these  Sanskrit  writings  may  be  studied  the  re- 
ligious thought  that  controlled  the  minds  and  sha^HHl 
the  destiny  of  that  early  people. 

I  am  not  unmindful  of  the  far  older  religions  that 
have  come  down  to  us  from  ancient  Assyria  and  Egypt, 
but  the  character  of  these  brief  inscriptions  are  not  iu 
be  compared  in  fullness  and  clearness  with  the  Sacred 
Books  of  India  that  were  originally  transmitted 
through  many  succeeding  generations,  until  they  were 
finally  transcribed  in  permanent  form  upon  the  palm 
leaves.  That  religion  has  moulded  and  controlled  the 
thinking  of  the  unnumbered  millions  of  the  jjeople, 
affecting  their  hopes  and  fears,  their  joys  and  sorrows, 
their  manner  of  life,  habits  and  social  condition, 
through  a  period  of  about  thirty-five  hundred  years. 
That  is  ample  time  for  judging  the  character  and 
naerits  of  a  religion  by  its  logical  fruits  and  direct 
effect  upon  its  countless  host  of  devoted  followers. 

After  a  long  time  in  the  study  of  the  Sacred  Books 
of  the  East,  I  had  an  ardent  desire  to  visit  India  in 
order  to  see  what  their  Bible  had  done  for  its  adher- 
ents ;  in  other  words  to  see  their  religion  L  action  as 
expressed  in  the  daily  practice  of  the  people,  and  to 
study  the  effects  of  Hinduism  by  its  fruits,  for  by  its 
fruits  among  the  people  we  may  know  its  quality,  and 
judge  it  accordingly.  The  conditions  are  particularly 
favourable  among  the  Hindus  inasmuch  as  they  aro  in- 
tensely religious  in  thought  and  outward  life,  and  as 
they  believe  and  think  concerning  their  gods,  so  they 


a*2 


Chmtianity  Versui  Other  World  Religions    271 

do.  They  give  emphasis  to  the  fact  that  man  is  not 
merely  a  religious  being,  but  that  his  religious  life,  ex- 
periences and  relation  to  God  depend  upon  his  concep- 
tion of  God,  the  character  of  that  being  and  the  rela- 
tion that  He  sustains  to  us.  These  considerations  de- 
termine roan's  mental  attitude  towards  God,  his  moral 
consciousness,  and  peace  of  mind  and  inspiration  for 
living  according  to  the  almighty  and  loving  One  in 
whom  he  believes  and  trusts.  Man  is  conscious  of  his 
dependence  upon  some  higher  power,  some  superhuman 
help,  for  he  often  realizes  his  limitations  and  helpless- 
ness and  hence  the  universality  of  prr  er.  "  Oh,  Thou 
that  hearest  prayer,  unto  Thee  must  ai    lesh  come." 

You  will  search  in  vain  through  the  religious  books 
of  the  East  for  the  Christian's  conception  of  God  as  our 
all-loving,  heavenly  Father,  who  declares  to  us:  "I 
will  be  a  Father  unto  you  and  ye  shall  be  My  sons  and 
My  daughtert  saith  the  Lord  God  Almighty."  "  Like 
as  a  father  pitieth  his  children  so  the  Lord  pitieth  them 
that  fear  Him ; "  and  "  Like  as  one  whom  his  mother  cora- 
forteth  so  will  I  comfort  you."  "  Call  upon  Me  in  time 
of  trouble  and  I  will  deliver  you."  «  Fear  thou  not 
for  I  am  with  thee;  be  not  dismayed,  for  I  am  thy 
God;  I  wUl  strengthen  thee;  yea,  I  wiU  help  thee; 
yea,  I  wiU  uphold  thee  with  the  right  hand  of  My 
righteousness." 

The  New  Testament  declares  explicitly  that  "  God  is 
love,"  that  «  He  gave  His  only  begotten  Son,  that  who- 
soever  believeth  in  Him  should  not  perish  but  have  ever- 
lasting  life  "  and  «  Herein  was  the  love  of  God  mani- 
fested in  us,  that  God  hath  sent  His  only  begotten  Son 
into  the  worid  that  we  might  live  through  Him." 
Among  the  many  gods  of  the  Vedas  and  Sanskrit  writ- 


&': 


iS' 


272   The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

ings  none  speak  like  the  God  whose  we  are  and  whom 
we  serve.  Those  Sacred  Books  contain  no  such  precious 
revelations  to  satisfy  the  deepest  wants  of  the  human 
soul,  and  those  marvellous  utterances  from  our  Bible 
bear  the  unmistakable  marks  of  divinity,  and  a  God  of 
infinite  love  alone  could  proclaim  them. 

We  frequently  hear  men  speak  of  the  marked  re- 
semblances between  our  Bible  and  those  of  the  Far 
East,  and  some  have  become  disturbed  in  mind  in  pos- 
sibility of  a  borrowing  from  those  ancient  writings, 
but  there  is  absolutely  no  occasion  for  such  suspicion  as 
can  be  clearly  seen  by  a  careful  comparison  of  the 
books  in  question.  It  is  natural  that  the  resemblances 
between  Christianity  and  other  religions  should  first  atr 
tract  the  attention  of  those  who  have  but  a  limited  ac- 
quaintance with  the  Sacred  Books  of  the  East,  for 
there  is  a  psychological  reason  for  this,  and  as  experi- 
enced in  daily  observation. 

We  instinctively  employ  the  comparative  method  by 
the  irresistible  law  of  association,  and  we  are  first  im- 
pressed with  points  of  resemblance,  however  vague  and 
remote  they  may  be.  Thus  we  speak  of  a  stranger  as 
reminding  us  of  some  acquaintance,  but  the  actual  sug- 
gestions of  resemblance  may  be  of  the  most  superficial 
character,  perhaps  in  physiognomy,  the  particular  con- 
tour of  the  face  and  expression  or  timbre  of  voice. 
With  increased  knowledge  those  seeming  resemblances 
vanish  because  of  the  remarkable  contrast  revealed  in 
the  personality,  moral  and  intellectual  character  of  the 
men  in  question.  The  same  is  true  in  the  study  of  re- 
ligions and  we  must  not  allow  ourselves  to  be  carried 
away  by  mere  superficial  verbal  resemblances,  and 
overlook  the  vastly  greater  differences.    We  need  to 


Christianity  Versus  Other  World  Religions    273 

heed  our  Saviour's  warnii  g  in  this  respect  and  "  Judge 
not  according  to  appearance  but  judge  according  to 
righteous  judgment." 

We  welcome  the  rare  gems  of  religious  thought  that 
are  found  in  ancient  literature,  whatever  people  may 
have  produced  them,  and  in  many  of  them  we  feel  the 
heart  throbs  of  imiversai  humanity  struggling  between 
the  burdens  of  life,  and  in  its  conscious  weakness  and 
sinfulness  seeking  to  find  help  from  the  invisible  God. 
"  God  made  of  one  every  nation  of  men  to  dwell  on 
all  the  face  of  the  earth ; "  and  the  Apostle  Paul  quotes 
from  that  remarkable  hymn  of  Cleanthes,  the  Greek 
poet,  and  no  one  can  read  it  without  recognizing  the 
fact  that  God  never  left  the  world  without  a  witness  of 
Himself,  and  that  He  is  that  "  true  light  which  lighteth 
every  man  coming  into  the  world."  This  one  God  and 
Father  of  us  all  was  always  the  same  loving  (Jod  and 
merciful  heavenly  Father,  and  He  revealed  Himself  to 
His  creatures  in  times  and  places  so  far  as  His  children 
bad  the  necessary  mental  and  spiritual  aptitude  to  re- 
ceive Him. 

Was  not  the  soul  of  Cleanthes  touched  with  the 
divine  spirit  as  with  the  vision  of  the  seer  and  moved 
by  inspiration  he  uttered  these  words :  "  O  Thou  of 
many  names,  most  glorious  of  immortals,  Almighty 
Zeus,  sovereign  ruler  of  nature,  directing  all  things  in 
accordance  with  law ;  Thee  it  is  right  that  all  mortals 
should  address,  for  Thine  offspring  we  are,  and  alone 
of  all  creatures  that  live  and  move  on  earth  have  re- 
ceived from  Thee  the  gift  of  imitative  sound,  wherefore 
I  will  hymn  Thy  praise  and  sing  Thy  might  forever. 
No  work  is  done  without  Thee,  O  Lord,  neither  on 
earth,  nor  in  heaven,  nor  in  the  sea,  except  what  the 


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If 


V- 


274  The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

wicked  do  in  their  foolishness.  Thou  knowest  how  to 
make  the  rough  smooth,  etc.  But  do  Thou,  all  bounte- 
ous Zeus,  who  sittest  in  the  clouds,  who  rulest  the 
thunder,  save  men  from  their  grievous  ignorance. 
Scatter  it  from  their  souls,  and  grant  them  to  obtain 
wisdom,  whereon  relying  Thou  dost  govern  all  things 
in  righteousness." 

Certain  people  have  become  unsettled  by  some 
startling  discovery  of  unusual  kmship  with  other  relig- 
ions, and  not  a  few  have  gone  to  extremes  in  their 
endeavour  to  account  for  them.  When  the  crosses  at 
Palenque  in  Yucatan  were  discovered,  the  most  sensa- 
tional theories  were  advanced,  and  some  over-zealous 
advocates  jumped  to  the  hasty  conclusion  that  the 
prehistoric  peoples  who  built  the  temples  and  carved 
the  crosses  upon  them  were  Christian  prophets,  who 
with  the  vision  of  the  seer  penetrated  the  future  and 
beheld  the  Cross  that  was  to  be  i-aised  on  Calvary.  The 
hasty  and  extravagant  conclusions  arrived  at  by  some 
enthusiasts  recall  the  story  of  a  superficial  traveller 
who  found  an  old  boot  that  had  been  washed  on  the 
shore  of  the  Mediterranean,  along  the  coast  of  Asia 
Minor,  and  which  was  marked  with  the  letter  J.  At 
once  his  memory  served  him  in  recalling  a  familiar 
character  mentioned  in  the  Old  Testament,  and  who 
had  a  most  thrilling  experience  with  the  giant  of  the 
deep.  He  exclaimed:  "Eureka!  I  have  found  the 
solution  and  the  veritable  boot  of  the  disobedient 
prophet,  for  J.  stands  for  Jonah,  and  the  boot  is  the 
one  that  he  lost  in  his  desperate  struggle  to  extricate 
himself  from  the  jaws  of  the  whale." 

It  is  only  a  misconception  of  the  rightful  relation  of 
Christianity  to  other  religions  that  should  cause  any  to 


Christianity  Versus  Other  World  Religions    275 

be  fearful  of  the  comparative  study,  for  its  province  is 
to  discern  the  facts  and  truths  and  their  relative  values 
so  as  to  discover  the  origin  and  meaning  of  certain 
religious  phenomena,  and  their  probable  relation  to 
other  and  later  religions.    There  has  been  an  evident 
growth  or  progress  in  religion,  for  God  did  not  at  once 
deliver  to  man  the  ready  made  plates  for  a  book  con- 
taining a  complete  revelation  of  Himself,  and  man's 
destmy  here  and  her  aafter,  as  has  been  claimed  for  the 
"  Book  of  Mormon    for  their  leaders  declared  that  they 
saw  and  handled  with  their  hands  the  original  metallic 
plates  upon  which  in  ancient  writing  was  engraved  the 
record  that  God  Himself  had  prepared,  and  that  He  sent 
an  angel  from  heaven  to  enlighten  Joseph  Smith,  Jr.,  and 
to  give  him  power  to  translate  the  mysterious  writings. 
"Whilst  the   electrical  forces  and  their  wonderful 
possibilities  always  existed,  it  has  only  been  in  modern 
times  that  certain  inventions  and  necessary  adaptations 
have   made   their   appropriation   possible.      Bacteria 
existed  in  the  past  as  well  as  to-day  and  disastrous 
plagues  followed,  although  men  attributed  the  appall- 
ing ravages  of  disease  to  divine  causes.    In  like  manner 
God  has  ever  been  in  the  world  and  striving  with  man, 
although  in  primitive  times  man  only  apprehended  in  a 
very  imperfect  manner  the  Gapreme  Being  from  whom 
he  could  not  escape.    Hence  it  is  not  difficult  to  recog- 
nize the  presence  of  God  in  other  religions,  as  in  the 
great  reformers  and  seers  of  the  Church. 

One  of  the  foremost  scholars,  Prof.  Clement  0.  J, 
Webb,  forcibly  expressed  this  idea  in  his  inaugural 
lecture:  "I  can  probably  count  on  the  agreement  of 
most  of  my  hearers  when  T  say  that  it  is  impossible  for 
us  to-day  so  to  isolate  any  alleged  system  of  Revealed 


I  i  n 


1  r 


fit: 


i_ 


f2{' 


276  The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

Religion  from  all  others  as  to  see  in  it  nothing  but  what 
is  divine,  and  in-  them  nothing  but  what  is  human,  or 
maybe  diabolical  The  marks  of  mutual  kinship  which 
all  religions  exhibit  are  too  unmistakable ;  our  convic- 
tion as  men  of  science  is  too  deep-rooted  that  such  marks 
stamp  them  all  as  the  issues  of  one  process  of  evolution ; 
while  not  less  deep-rooted  is  our  conviction  as  men  of 
religion  that  we  can  recogni?:e  goodness  where  we  see 
it,  and  that,  wherever  we  see  it,  it  must  come  from 
God."  It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  different  religions 
arose  in  response  to  the  profound  wants  and  pressing 
needs  of  mankind  in  certain  places  and  under  special 
circumstances,  whether  we  refer  to  Moses,  Buddha,  or 
Confucius. 

Bearing  upon  this  comparative  study  of  religions, 
Professor  Jastrow  refers  to  the  tendency  of  certain 
scholars  in  Germany  "to  trace  the  majority  of  the 
Hebrew  traditions  to  B..by Ionian  and  Assyrian  sourcos, 
to  see  in  the  myths  of  Genesis,  in  the  legends  of  the 
patriarchs  and  even  in  the  accounts  of  historical  person- 
ages in  the  Old  Testament,  the  reflections  of  an  astral 
mythology  and  an  astral  theology  which  were  devel- 
oped in  the  priestly  schools  of  the  Euphrates  "Valley. 
It  is  no  longer  possible  to  question  the  kinship  between 
certain  elements  of  the  Old  Testament  and  what  we 
find  in  the  religion  of  Babylon  and  Assyria,  and  yet  it 
is  difficult  to  resist  the  conviction  that  its  closeness  has 
been  exaggerated.  Tempting  generalities  were  hastily 
drawn  of  a  direct  borrowing  by  the  younger  civilization 
from  the  older.  The  th^-is  suggested  by  a  more  critical 
examination  of  the  abundant  material  now  at  hand  is 
that  resemblances  in  myths  and  traditions  are  frequently 
as  deceptive   as  resemblances  in  words  of  dUEerent 


i: 


I  ■  f  I 


\m: 


Christianity  Versus  Other  World  Religions    277 

languages."  "The  distinctive  feature  of  Hebrew 
monotheism  is  its  consistent  adherence  to  the  principle 
of  a  transcendent  deity.  No  attempt  was  made  at  a  ny 
time  in  Babylon  and  Assyria  to  set  aside  the  cult  of 
other  gods  in  favour  of  Marduk." 

It  is  well  known  that  there  are  many  splendid  ex- 
amples  of  lofty  ethical  teachings  in  the  Sacred  Books  of 
the  East,  for  all  recognize  the  supremacy  of  that  moral 
faculty  which  we  call  conscience  and  which  is  the 
common  heritage  of  mankind.    That  inner  and  silent 
mc    ^or  which  prompts  us  as  to  what  we  ought  to  do 
and  what  we  ought  not  to  do,  struggles  to  secure  obedi- 
ence and  cannot  be  intimidated  by  threat  nor  silenced 
by  sophistry  and  ruled  out  of  court  by  legal  technical- 
ities, but  it  is  its  own  defense,  or  accuser  and  prosecutor 
It  IS  the  jury  as  well  as  the  judge,  and  the  decision  is 
final  and  no  appeal  can  reverse  that  decision.     The 
guUty  fully  realize  the  supreme  authority  when  unable 
to  escape  the  inexorable  penalty  of  a  hell  of  remorse, 
even  for  the  secret  sin,  for  it  has  found  out  the  evil- 
doer himself,  though  he  may  have  escaped  the  eye-  of 
guardians  of  the  law,  and  hence  criminals  have  been 
forced  by  their  own  inner  consciousness  to  confess  their 
crimes,  and  to  return  conscience  money. 

Man  may  yield  to  temptation  and  be  overcome  of 
evil,  but  conscience  will  not  accommodate  the  evil-doer 
by  making  an  unconditional  surrender  its  ethical  stand- 
ards, for  with  conscience,  right  is  always  right  and 
never  wrong,  and  wrong  is  always  wrong  and  never 
nght.  In  the  universal  presence  of  this  dominant 
moral  faculty  among  men  we  must  also  recognize  the 
evidence  of  God's  presence,  who  would  confirm  His 
children  m  the  right  and  keep  them  from  the  wrong, 


'4;^. 


M 


■H 


r   j 


i  1 


i-    I 

i'    I 


►     f  1 


278  The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

for  without  conscience  life  would  be  intolerable,  and 
society  and  state  impossible.  God  must  speak  to  men 
through  their  conscience,  and  hence  the  fact  that 
beautiful  moral  truths  have  been  echoed  in  other  re- 
ligions, and  that  even  the  Golden  Rule  had  a  place  in 
the  ancient  sacred  classics  of  China,  does  not  in  any 
way  detract  from  Christ's  teachings  in  the  Gospel. 

During  a  summer  spent  at  Lake  Mohonk,  a  young 
American  who  claimed  to  be  a  convert  to  Buddhism 
afflicted  the  peaceful  minds  of  some  of  the  guests  by 
parading  what  he  termed  the  gospel  teachings  of 
Buddha,  and  then  embarrassed  them  by  the  sug- 
gestive question :  "  How  do  you  account  for  the  fact 
of  the  remarkable  resemblances  between  Buddhism  and 
Christianity :  and  inasmuch  as  Buddha  came  five  cen- 
turies earlier  than  Jesus  it  is  evident  that  he  did  not 
borrow  from  the  latter,  and  how  do  we  know  that 
Jesus  did  not  borrow  from  the  former?"  They  were 
unable  to  give  a  satisfactory  answer,  for  they  were  not 
acquainted  with  the  teachings  of  Gautama,  and  they 
did  not  know  that  the  differences  were  far  more  re- 
markable than  the  resemblances,  and  which  must  be 
taken  into  account.  This  will  become  evident  to  every 
one  by  reference  to  the  earlier  authoritative  Buddhist 
writings.  We  recognize  the  noble  and  unselfish  charac- 
ter of  Buddha,  who  devoted  himself  to  his  mission,  and 
by  thoroughly  ethical  teachings  condemning  the  ex- 
cessive and  soulless  ceremonialism  of  Brahmanism,  and 
enjoining  the  brotherhood  of  man.  But  alas,  there  was 
no  Fatherhood  of  God  in  his  teachings  for  the  depressed 
and  disconsolate  ones  of  India,  and  here  was  an  awful 
gulf  between  him  and  Jesus. 

Moreover,  Jesus  was  not  an  ascetic,  and  He  claimed 


n^ 


i-tA 


Christianity  Versus  Other  World  Religions    279 

to  be  far  more  than  a  mere  human  reformer.  Whilst 
Buddha  recognized  no  God  in  his  mission  amojg  men. 
Jesus  said:  "I  always  do  the  wiU  of  My  Father  in 
heaven,"  and  He  also  claimed  oneness  with  God.  ««He 
that  hath  seen  Me  hath  seen  the  Father,  for  the  Father 
and  I  are  One."  «  Abide  in  Me  and  I  will  abide  in  you 
and  My  Father  and  I  will  come  and  take  up  our  abode 
in  you."  "  Peace  I  leave  with  you ;  My  peace  I  give 
unto  you ;  not  as  the  world  giveth,  give  I  unto  you. 
Let  not  your  heart  be  troubled,  neither  let  it  be 
fearful." 

In  contradistinction  to  this,  a  mournfully  pessimistic 
spint  pervades  the  teachings  of  Buddha,  and  which 
characterized  his  first  sermon.  Wo  need  but  quote  sen- 
tences  that  show  the  essence  of  his  hopeless  philosophy 
of  life,  and  from  which  there  was  no  escape.  «  Birth 
is  suflFering.  Decay  is  suffering.  Illness  is  suffering 
Presence  of  objects  we  hate  is  suffering.  Separation 
from  objects  we  love  is  suffering.  fJlinging  to  existence 
IS  suffenng," 

From  this  mournful  picture  of  life  what  a  happy 
contrast  is  furnished  by  the  message  with  which  Jesus 
announces  His  mission.  It  was  on  the  Sabbath  day  in 
the  synagogue  in  Nazareth  when  He  read  from  the  book 
of  the  prophet  Isaiah :  «  The  spirit  of  the  Lord  is  upon 
Me,  because  He  anointed  Me  to  preach  good  tidingsto 
the  poor;  He  hath  sent  Me  to  proclaim  release  to  the 
captives,  and  recovering  of  sight  to  the  bUnd,  and  set 
at  liberty  them  that  are  bruised."  Having  read  this 
message  He  said  to  the  hearers;  "To^Iay  hath  this 
Scripture  been  fulfilled  in  your  ears."  There  is  no  note 
of  pessimism  or  despair  in  the  first  sermon  that  Jesus 
preached  in  Nazareth  as  He  proclaimed  the  purpose  of 


m 


i  I 


W] 


^1  il' 


I.; 


<••  I 


280  The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

His  mission ;  His  words  are  full  of  hope  and  assured 
victory. 

Buddha  had  not  the  lofty  and  extended  vision  of  the 

inspired  seer  and  the  consciousness  of  divinity  within 

himself  as  was  true  of  Jesus,  and  in  his  deep  personal 

interest  for  suffering  humanity  he  even  undertook  the 

work  without  appealing  to  the  almighty  aid  of  a  Supreme 

Being.    Here  was  the  lamentable  hopelessness  of  his 

proposed  system  of  redemption  in  giving  to  his  followers 

that  which  by  courtesy  has  been  called  a  religion,  but 

divorced  from  deity,  and  thus  left  without  hope  his 

system  for  human  redemption  was  doomed  to  failure. 

In  this  atheistic  teaching  of  Buddha,  and  which  allowed 

man  no  recourse  to  prayer,  we  have  an  immeasurable 

difference  between  him  and  the  founder  of  Christianity, 

and  strange  that  any  man  should  be  blind  to  those 

marvellous  contrasts,  but  be  filled  with  enthusiasm 

respecting  the  most  superficial  resemblances. 

In  confirmation  of  these  statements  I  would  refer  the 
reader  to  a  recent  Buddhist  catechism,  compiled  from 
the  sacred  Buddhist  writings  for  the  use  of  Europeans 
by  Subhadra  Bikshu,  and  which  contains  the  following : 
"  Is  Buddha  a  God,  who  has  revealed  himself  to  man- 
kind ?  No.  Or  one  sent  by  God  into  the  world  to 
bring  salvation  ?  No.  Then  he  was  a  man  ?  Yes ; 
but  a  man  far  superior  to  ordinary  men,  one  of  a  series 
of  self-enlightened  Buddhas."  "  There  is  no  personal 
God  Creator,  on  whose  mercy  and  good  will  the  universe 
depends.  Human  ignorance  it  is  which  alone  invented 
a  personal  God  Creator.  The  Budc'hist  utterly  rejects 
the  belief  in  a  personal  God."  "  Buddha  cs,nnot  redeem 
us  from  the  consequences  of  our  guilt  Every  one  of  us 
must  become  his  own  redeemer."    "  There  is  no  heaven 


Christianity  Versus  Other  World  Religions    281 

and  no  hell  in  the  Christian  sense."  "  But  there  are 
dark  worlds  or  conditions  of  anguish  and  despair,  where 
not  a  ray  of  hope  and  deliverance  can  penetrate,  and 
where  the  suflferer  has  to  remain  until  he  has  reaped 
the  bitter  fruit  of  his  evil  doings.  There  are  equally 
bright  worlds  of  joy."  The  upright  and  just  man 
suffers  for  the  wrong  committed  in  his  former  life. 
The  wicked  and  unjust  often  enjoy  pleasures  and 
honours  in  consequence  of  merit  won  in  his  former 
lives. 

"  The  belief  in  an  immortal,  personal  soul— that  is, 
an  indestructible  and  eternal  separate  substance  which 
has  only  a  temporary  abode  in  the  body — is  regarded 
by  Buddliists  as  a  heresy.  What  is  rematerialized  in  a 
fresh  birth  is  not  the  soul,  but  the  individuality,  an 
this  is  not  the  soul,  but  the  individuality,  and  this  wia 
assume,  in  accordance  with  its  Karma,  a  new  person. 
What  we  call  a  soul  is  dissolved  after  death  into  its 
constituent  elements."  "  I  aincamatiori  continues  until 
perfect  knowledge  and  Nirvana  is  attained."  That 
"  redemption  is  worked  out  by  each  one  himself  without 
any  prayers,  sacrifices  and  penances,  without  the  min- 
istry of  ordained  priests,  without  divine  mercy."  The 
Nirvana  attained  is  not  the  same  as  the  state  of  the 
Christian  in  heaven,  for  it  is  but  "  the  continuance  of 
individuality  without  an  immortal  soul,  eternity,  hap- 
piness without  a  local  heaven."  We  must  not  fall  into 
the  error  of  some  by  making  Nirvana  a  synonym  for 
annihilation  of  being,  or  extinction  of  the  soul  in  its 
complete  entirety. 

The  "buddhism  of  to-day  presents  a  variety  of  beliefs 
and  is  quite  different  in  many  respects  from  that  which 
Buddha  himself  taught,  and  especially  in  that  his  fol- 


I. 

rl 

f 


Si-: 


i    H 


*!  ! 

y 


282   The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 


I 


» 


t 


irii. 


lowers  have  deified  and  worshipped  him,  for  he  ac- 
knowledged no  deity  and  made  no  claim  whatever  to 
divinity  for  himself,  but  even  disdained  such  divine 
honour  and  taught  his  followers  to  look  to  themselves 
alooe  for  salvation  after  his  departure.  In  spite  of  this 
fact  to-day  Buddha  has  been  enthroned  to  a  high  seat 
among  the  gods,  and  he  is  associated  with  countless 
shrines,  temples  and  statues,  for  no  divinity  in  all  the 
world  has  so  many  images  raised  to  his  honour.  Some 
of  the  famous  bronze  Buddhas  are  of  colossal  propor- 
tions, and  the  excessive  multiplication  of  his  statues  in 
some  notable  temples  is  amazing ;  as  though  his  virtues 
and  powers  were  increased  by  this  multiplicity. 

"We  must  distinguish  between  the  purely  legendary 
and  the  historical  truth  respecting  the  life  of  Buddha, 
for  the  Buddhist  Bible  or  the  whole  of  the  Fitakas  con- 
tain no  life  of  him,  and  the  only  known  biography  of 
him  was  written  two  thousand  years  after  his  birth. 
Many  unauthentic  and  unreliable  statements  have  been 
made  public  by  writers  who  drew  upon  their  imagina- 
tion for  the  picture  that  they  presented,  and  many  have 
been  misled  by  those  impressions.  But  fiction  and 
legend,  however  interesting  they  may  be,  must  not  be 
seriously  taken  for  fact.  As  an  illustration,  two  uni- 
versity students,  who  had  the  ministry  in  view,  called 
on  me  to  tell  of  their  serious  doubts  that  had  been 
aroused  by  reading  Sir  Edwin  Arnold's  "  Light  of  Asia." 

The  marked  resemblances  that  appeared  between 
Buddha  and  Jesus  were  a  shock  to  their  faith,  for  know- 
ing that  the  former's  advent  preceded  that  of  the  latter 
by  some  centuries,  they  suspected  that  Jesus  had  re- 
ceived His  light  from  the  "  Light  of  Asia."  To  help 
them  out  of  their  perplexity  I  showed  them  the  author- 


.  i 


Christianity  Versus  Other  World  Religions    283 

itative  Sacred  Books  of  Buddhism,  and  as  the  supposed 
wonderful  resemblances  vanished,  and  the  marvellous 
differences  appeared,  their  doubts  disappeared  also  and 
their  faith  in  Christ  was  restored.  There  is  not  the 
remotest  reason  for  the  falkcious  charge  that  Chris- 
tianity has  been  enriched  by  the  writings  of  Buddhism 
or  Hinduism.  It  would  h"ve  been  as  reasonable  had 
the  explorer,  who  discovered  the  marble  cross  in  the 
palace  of  Knossos  on  the  Isle  of  Crete,  proclaimed  to 
the  world  that  he  had  found  the  origin  of  the  Chris- 
tian's symbol,  and  that  the  inception  of  Christianity 
could  be  traced  to  that  early  people.  Such  a  report 
might  have  produced  a  momentary  sensation,  but 
scholars  would  not  have  received  it  as  reliable  informa- 
tion. 

Buddha,  as  Dr.  H.  Hoffding  states,  "founded  not  a 
church  but  a  monastic  order.    Buddhism  became  a 
popular  religion  only  by  means  of  the  legends  which 
wove  themselves  round  the  figures  of  Buddha,  by  the 
forms  of  worship  which  were  adopted  from  the  older 
religions  of  India,  and,  not  least,  by  the  strong  em- 
phasis of  active  love  to  man.     Buddha's  thoughts  are 
like  the  grains  of  corn  which,  neither  destroyed  nor  ful- 
filled, still  lie  in  Egyptian  graves  as  they  were  laid 
centuries  ago.    But  the  thought  of  Jesus  have  proved 
their  fruitfulness.    Buddha  soitened  Asia,  but  Jesus 
taught  Europe  a  great  Excelsior."    "  Jesus  wanted  to 
purify  and  idealize  men's  wishes,  not  to  do  away  with 
them,"  as  was  the  method  of  Buddha.    Fortunately 
whilst  he  banished  the  soul  theory,  he  could  not  banish 
from  man  the  soul  fact,  for  that  survived,  just  as  God 
survived  his  atheistic  theory." 
Buddha  could  give  no  comfort  to  the  father  who 


ftfe 


m 


If: 


I;: 


l-\ 


■1  i 


V    I 

f 


i 


284  '^^  ^'^  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 


oame  bewailing  the  death  of  his  son,  bat  he  gave  all  he 
had  when  he  said  to  him,  "  Yes,  so  it  is,  my  father. 
What  a  man  loves  brings  him  woe  and  sorrow,  suffer- 
ing and  despair."  No  wonder  th&t  Hdffding  states  that 
the  "  father  turned  from  the  Indian  sage  with  an  out- 
raged heart,  and  he  was  right  that  a  perfection  won  at 
such  a  cost  is  not  able  to  express  the  highest  personal 
value." 

Unlike  Jesus,  Buddha  had  no  solace  for  the  bereaved, 
no  balm  for  the  broken-hearted,  and  when  the  young 
mother  in  great  sorrow  brought  her  dead  child  to  him 
saying,  "  Lord  and  Master,  do  you  know  any  medicine 
that  will  be  good  for  my  child  ?  "  he  replied,  "  Yes,  I 
know  of  some.  Qo  get  me  a  hand'-*l  of  mustard  seed 
from  a  house  where  no  son,  husband,  parent  or  slave 
has  died."  With  a  lay  of  hope  awakened  in  her  soul 
of  agony  by  the  promise  that  later  proved  but  mock- 
ery, she  hastened  forth  for  the  hope  for  remedy.  But 
in  those  large  Eastern  homes  where  as  many  as  four 
generations  dwell  together  she  found  none  into  which 
death  had  not  entered,  and  in  despair  she  returned  to 
her  master  with  the  sad  story  of  her  fruitless  search. 
His  only,  answer  to  that  agonizing  mother  was :  "You 
thought  you  alone  had  lost  a  son :  the  law  of  death  is 
that  among  all  living  creatures  there  is  no  permanence." 

Who  knowing  Jesus  and  Buddha  would  ever  be 
troubled  with  their  resemblances?  Go  with  me  to 
Nain,  and  stand  by  the  bier  with  Jesus  as  He  speaks 
the  words  of  effectual  comfort  to  the  disconsolate 
mother  and  widow,  "  Weep  not,"  and  then  dries  her 
tears  and  rejoices  her  heart  by  restoring  alive  to  her 
the  son  that  they  had  been  carrying  to  the  place  of 
burial    Or  go  to  Bethany,  to  the  home  of  Mary  and 


Christianity  Versus  Other  World  Rehgions    285 

Martha,  and  follow  them  as  they  go  to  the  tomb  of 
their  brother  Lazanu  to  weep ;  and  behold  that  scene 
as  the  divine  and  human  meet,  for  no  man  ever  spake 
like  this  Jesus  of  Nazareth.  In  deep  sorrow  of  soul 
Martha  says  to  Him :  "  Lord,  if  Thou  hadst  been  here, 
my  brother  had  not  died."  "  Jesus  saith  unto  her,  Thy 
brother  shaU  rise  again.  .  .  .  I  am  the  resurrection, 
and  the  life :  he  that  believeth  in  Me,  though  he  die, 
yet  shall  he  live ;  and  whosoover  liveth  and  believeth 
on  Me  shall  never  die."  Those  words  that  brought  life 
and  immortality  to  light  have  echoed  through  the 
Christian  centuries  and  no  one  can  estimate  their 
power  in  inspiring  the  bereaved  with  hope  and  oonao- 
lation.  Strange  that  any  man  should  have  an  exagger- 
ated vision  for  dark  and  superficial  resemblances,  and 
be  blind  to  the  marvellous  differences  that  are  as  clear 
as  the  noonday  sun. 

When  Buddha  himself  was  nearing  the  end  of  his 
earthly  journey  he  said  to  his  beloved  cousin :  « O 
Amantha,  my  journey  is  drawing  to  its  close.    I  have 
hyed  eighty  years,  and  just  as  a  worn-out  cart  can  only 
with  much  care  be  made  to  move  along.    .    .    .    In  the 
future  be  ye  to  yourselves  your  own  light,  your  own 
refuge.    .    .    .    Look  not  to  any  one  but  to  yourselves 
as  a  refuge."    Contrast  such  a  confession  of  conscious 
human  helplessness  with  some  of  the  wonderful  words  of 
Jesus.    « I  am  the  Light  of  the  world ;  he  that  foUoweth 
Me  shall  not  walk  in  darkness."    « I  am  the  Way,  the 
Truth  and  the  Life ;  no  man  cometh  unto  the  Father  but 
by  Me."    « I  came  that  they  may  have  life,  and  may  have 
It  abundantly."    "  If  any  man  keep  My  word,  he  shall 
never  see  death."    "I  give  unto  them  eternal  life," 
and  "  This  is  life  eternal  that  they  should  know  Thee 


•*t 


tl    I 


r 

"t 


n 


r  1 


1    ,  '- 


i    ! 

i! 

I     I 


■tit 


•i 


286  The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

the  only  true  God,  and  Him  whom  Thou  didst  send, 
even  Jesus  Christ."    "  I  am  the  living  bread  that  came 
down  out  of  heaven  ;  ff  any  man  eat  of  this  bread  he 
shall  live  forever."    "  Destroy  this  body,  and  in  three 
days  I  wiU  raise  it  up  again."    To  the  sorrowing  ones  of 
earth  He  calls  in  words  of  sympathy  and  love :  "  Come 
unto  Me,  all  ye  that  labour  and  are  heavy  laden,  and 
I  will  give  you  rest ;    .    .    .    and  ye  shall  find  rest 
unto  your  souls."    "  These  things  have  I  spoken  unto 
you,  that  in  Me  ye  may  have  peace.    In  the  world  ye 
have  tribulation  :  but  be  of  good  cheer ;  I  have  over- 
come the  world."    "  Let  not  your  heart  be  troubled  ; 
beUeve  in  God,  beUeve  also  in  Me.    In  My  Father's 
house  are  many  mansions ;  if  it  were  not  so,  I  would 
have  told  you ;  for  I  go  to  prepare  a  place  for  you. 
And  if  I  go  and  prepare  a  place  for  you,  I  will  come 
agam,  and  receive  you  unto  Myself;  that  where  I  am, 
there  ye  may  be  also."    « I  will  not  leave  you  desolate : 
I  come  unto  you.    Yet  a  little  while,  and  the  world 
beholdeth  Me  no  more ;  but  ye  behold  Me :  because  I 
live,  ye  shall  live  also.    In  that  day  ye  shall  know  that 
1  am  in  My  Father,  and  ye  in  Me,  and  I  in  you.    H) 
that  hath  My  commandments,  and  keepeth  them,  he  it 
is  that  loveth  Me,  and  he  that  loveth  Me  shall  be 
loved  of  My  Father,  and  I  will  love  him  and  will 
manifest    Myself    unto   him."    Buddha   never  spake 
words  like  these.     His  choicest  gems  do  not  bear  even 
the  remotest  semblance  to  them,  for  he  spake  only  as 
man  and  conscious  of  his  own  imperfections  and  limi- 
tations, whilst  Jesus  spake  as  the  God-man. 

I  acknowledge  that  for  the  human  mind  there  is  un- 
fathomable mystery  in  that  eternal  life  which  Chi 
promises,  for  death  is  universal  and  ends  this  eart 


as 

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Christianity  Versus  Other  World  Religions    287 

areer,  and  we  cannot  penetrate  the  invisible  Beyond. 
But  life  itself  is  a  profound  mystery,  even  that  of  the 
tiny  seed,  and  with  all  the  combined  wisdom  of  scien- 
tific discovery,  man  has  not  been  able  to  make  a  single 
one  of  these  seeds.  Man  may  imitate  it  so  successfully 
in  outward  form  as  to  deceive  the  eye,  but  be  cannot 
deceive  nature.  You  may  plant  that  man-made  seed 
in  the  richest  soil,  under  the  sunshine  and  showers  of 
heaven,  but  it  will  not  grow,  for  it  lacks  the  essence 
and  potency  of  life,  and  which  God  alone  can  give. 
In  a  world  of  such  daily  mysteries,  we  need  not  doubt 
Ilim  when  He  promises  eternal  life  to  us  who  are  His 
own  children,  and  whom  He  made  for  fellowship  for 
Himself.  ^ 

Jesus  in  His  farewell  discourse  to  His  disciples,  re- 
ferring to  their  sorrow,  said, "  But  I  will  see  you  again, 
and  your  heart  shall  rejoice,  and  your  joy  no  man 
taketh  away  from  you."  "  These  things  have  I  spoken 
unto  you,  that  in  Me  ye  may  have  peace.  In  the  world 
ye  have  tribulation :  but  be  of  good  cheer ;  I  have  over- 
come the  world."  "Go  ye  therefore,  and  make  dis- 
ciples of  all  the  nations,  baptizing  them  in  the  name  of 
the  Father  and  of  the  Son  and  of  the  Holy  Spirit : 
teax5hing  them  to  observe  all  things  whatsoever  I  com- 
manded you :  and  lo,  I  am  with  you  always,  even  unto 
the  end  of  the  world." 

The  transcendent  character  of  Christ  and  the  Gospel 
appear  to  advantage  when  compared  with  other  re- 
ligions, for  contrast  brings  out  the  true  and  distinctive 
values  as  well  as  the  comparative  superiority  or  in- 
feriority of  the  respective  religions  placed  in  compari- 
son. It  is  still  true  that  no  man  ever  spake  like  Jesus, 
and  we  may  safely  challenge  all  the  religionists  of  the 


1 

ii 


*♦ 


hi 


288  The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 


■^-v?,' 


East  to  produce  from  their  Bibles  a  passage  comparable 
with  that  which  Christ  uttered  when  He  declared  that 
"  Gk)d  so  loved  the  world  that  He  gave  His  only  be- 
gotten Son,  that  whosoever  believeth  in  Him  should 
not  perish,  but  have  everlasting  life."  In  that  brief 
declaration  He  gives  us  the  Gospel  in  the  concrete, 
revealing  blessed  truths,  such  as  the  world  had  never 
heard,  and  well  might  the  Gospel  of  Christ  be  called 
good  news.  The  greatest  verities  of  human  thought 
are  contained  in  this  brief  message :  God  and  man,  and 
their  relation  to  each  other ;  earth  and  heaven ;  death 
and  everlasting  life.  You  cannot  match  it  with  any 
of  the  brightest  gems  culled  from  all  the  Sacred  Books 
of  the  East,  for  it  is  unique,  and  bears  the  unmista- 
kable stamp  of  divinity. 

The  human  mind  never  conceived  of  such  a  revela- 
tion, for  from  the  dawn  of  history  we  find  man  grop- 
ing his  way  amid  many  and  often  degrading  supersti- 
tions in  his  earnest  efforts  to  find  God,  but  now  this  or- 
der is  reversed  and  God  takes  the  initiative,  and  He 
comes  through  Christ  to  seek  and  to  save  the  lost. 
That  was  God's  own  method  and  no  such  conception  of 
Him  had  dawned  upon  the  mind  of  man.  To  make 
such  knowledge  possible  God  must  reveal  Himself 
through  a  person,  as  He  did  through  His  own  Son,  and 
in  this  brief  passage  we  have  revealed  the  hope  for  the 
salvation  of  universal  humanity.  It  reveals  to  us  the 
boundless  love  of  God,  and  is  sufficient  to  save  the 
world.  In  Christ  we  have  our  nearest  and  clearest 
view  of  God,  and  here  is  met  the  deep  and  universal 
need  of  the  human  soul  as  expressed  by  Philip  when  he 
made  his  appeal  to  Jesus :  "Show  us  the  Father,  and 
it  sufficeth  us."    Christ  replied  to  him :    "  He  that  hath 


Christianity  Versus  Other  World  Religions    289 

seen  Me  hath  seen  the  Father,  for  the  Father  and  I  are 
one," 

Whilst  freely  acknowledging  all  the  intellectual  dif- 
ficulties involved  in  our  belief  in  the  doctrine  of  the  in- 
carnation, I  am  persuaded  that  the  difficulties  in  the 
way  of  unbelief  are  still  greater.    If  God  is  almighty, 
and  our  loving  heavenly  Father,  then  the  fact  of  the 
incarnation,  or  God's  interposition  in  our  behalf,  is 
reasonable  as  well  as  possible.     But  we  must  remem- 
ber the  character  of  that  being  for  whom  the  great 
sacrifice  was  made,  for  it  was  man,  the  offspring  of 
God,  and  who  had  been  created  in  His  own  image. 
We  know  what  sacrifice  a  mother  will  make  even  for 
an  unworthy  child,  for  often  there  seems  to  be  no 
limit  to  the  self-denial  and  suflfering  that  she  will  en- 
dure for  the  sake  of  one  that  has  gone  astray,  and 
will  not  the  Infinite  and  all-merciful  God  and  loving 
heavenly   Father  make  infinitely  greater  sacrifice  for 
the  redemption  of  the  countless  millions  of  His  own 
sons   and   daughters  ?    Remember   that  God  is  our 
heavenly  Father,  and  we  are  His  children,  however 
unworthy  and  estranged  from  Him  we  may  have  be- 
come.   He  has  ever  loved  us  as  His  own  children,  just 
as  the  wayward  prodigal  was  still  the  son  of  his 
father.    Man  was  no  mere  "grovelling  worm  of  the 
dust "  as  some  in  their  prayers  have  confessed  hhn  to 
be,  but  God's  child,  however  much  the  divine  image 
may  have  been  effaced  by  sin. 

On  one  occasion  when  purchasing  a  number  of  an- 
cient coins  that  had  been  recently  discovered,  there  was 
among  them  a  tetradrachm  of  Alexander  the  Great,  but 
so  covered  by  a  crust  from  the  accumulation  of  many 
centuries  as  to  be  scarcely  recognizable,  except  to  a 


■J  ' 


>H      11 


a 


Wmi': 


I    '  .'I 

■I  i!  i 


290   The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

trained  eye,  and  when  that  had  been  removed  I  had  a 
beautiful  silver  coin,  as  bright  and  perfect  as  when  it 
came  from  the  ancient  mint.  The  God  of  boundless 
love  saw  man's  deplorable  state,  and  in  him  He  recog- 
nized His  own  child,  and  He  could  endure  it  no  longer, 
but  came  to  man's  relief. 

He  could  not  be  the  God  of  love  unless  that  love 
moved  Him  to  action  and  to  sacrifice  for  man's  deliver- 
ance, for  love  ib  inseparable  from  sacrifice ;  it  wants  to 
do  something  and  does  not  merely  express  itself  in 
words.  Hence  "  He  who  was  rich,  for  our  sakes  be- 
came poor,  that  we  through  His  poverty  might  be  made 
rich." 

There  upon  the  cross  we  behold  God's  boundless 
love,  not  proclaimed  merely  in  words,  but  in  a  sacri- 
fice that  speaks  louder  than  words.  That  cross  is  the 
symbol  of  man's  meeting  place  with  God  in  a  unique 
sense,  for  there  in  a  preeminent  degree  God  "  was  in 
Christ  reconciling  the  world  unto  Himself,"  a  fact  that 
Jesus  foresaw  when  He  said :  "  If  I  be  lifted  up  from 
the  earth,  I  will  draw  all  men  unto  Myself." 

I  have  often  been  asked :  "  What  impressed  you  as 
the  most  wonderful  object  that  you  saw  in  all  your 
years  of  travel  ?  "  It  was  not  our  Western  prairies  ; 
not  the  Yellowstone  National  Park,  that  Wonder-Land 
of  the  world ;  nuL  the  great  volcanoes  of  the  Hawaiian 
Islands ;  not  the  vast  oceans,  nor  the  Fjords  of  I^orway 
and  the  midnight  sun  ;  not  the  Ganges,  nor  the  Alps, 
nor  the  Kanchinjunga  Range  of  the  Himalayas,  with 
Mt.  Everest  towering  heavenward — almost  six  miles 
above  sea  level. 

No,  it  was  none  of  these  physical  wonders,  nor  yet 
the  wonderful  architectural  creations  that  remain  from 


:  1I 


Christianity  Versus  Other  World  Religions    291 

ancient  Greece  and  Rome,  nor  that  unique  Taj  Mahal 
at  Agr^  nor  any  of  the  famous  masterpieces  of  sculp- 
ture and  painting ;  but  the  greatest  object  that  I  ever 
^w  waa  man,  God's  greatest  masterpiece,  and  made  in 
His  own  hkeness.    This  man  was  also  far  greater  than 
any  of  his  works,  although  he  had  often  changed  the 
fa^  of  nature,  and  tunnelled  mountains,  and  connected 
lakes  and  tne  great  oceans,  and  covered  the  plains  and 
hUlsides  with  towns  and  cities,  and  wrought  out  many 
stertlmg  inventions,  and  even  brought  the  distant  places 
of  the  earth  within  speaking  distance.    And  yet  it  is 
not  the  wonderful  inventions  that  we  call  the  marvels 
not  that  intricate  mechanism  of  the  modem  printin^^! 
press   but  the  man  who  made  it ;  not  the  machine  that 
moulds  the  type  and  prints  the  paper,  but  that  which  is 
most  marveUous  by  far  is  the  man  with  the  invisible 
mmd  who  thinks  out  the  contents  of  the  newspaper  and 
nils  the  homes  and  libraries  and  influences  the  thought 
of  the  world.    No  wonder  that  God  was  moved  to  a 
great  sacrifice  for  this  being,  especiaUy  when  his  high- 
est present  and  eternal  welfare  was  involved,  for  thi. 
man  was  worth  saving.    Nor  was  that  sacrifice  made  -. 
vaan,  nor  has  the  attractive  power  of  the  cross  lost  its 
influence  m  the  world,  but  it  continues  with  every  age 

^  wr'P  u'  f""^  ""^  ''^^^  ^  ^  1^*«°*  as  that  of  Jes,^. 
When  the  leaders  of  the  Jews  threatened  the  Roman 
governor  that  if  he  released  Jesus  he  was  not  Cesar's 
fnend,  Pilate  yielded,  for  he  feared  Tiberius  who  was 
the  potentate  of  the  great  empire,  although  now  with- 
out  a  single  follower,  and  Jesus  seemed  helpless  then  as 
He  went  forth  towards  Calvary  bearing  His  cross,  for  it 
looked  like  a  lost  cause,  and  yet  contraiy  to  all  appear- 
ances, that  crucifixion  on  Golgotha  was  to  be  His  coro- 


'    . 


■^^1 


••» 


292    The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 


m^  \ 


k  i 


E;-' 


^i: 


/' 


nation,  and  would  transform  the  despised  Gross  into  the 
most  precious  and  hallowed  symbol  in  Christendom. 

Graetz,  the  Jewish  historian,  admits  this  astounding 
fact,  for  in  one  of  his  volumes  on  the  "  History  of  the 
Jews"  he  states  that  Jesus  is  "the  only  mortal  of 
whom  one  can  say  without  exaggeration  that  His  death 
was  more  effective  than  His  life.  Golgotha^  the  place 
of  skulls,  became  to  the  civilized  world  a  new  Sinai. 
Strange  that  events  fraught  with  so  vast  an  import 
should  have  created  so  little  stir  at  the  time  of  their 
occurrence."  But  as  an  historian  Graetz  should  have 
sought  to  discover  the  philosophy  for  this  unique  fact 
in  all  history,  for  there  must  have  been  a  reason,  since 
every  effect  has  a  cause.  Had  his  religious  prejudices 
not  prevented  him  from  searching  the  New  Testament 
Scriptures,  he  might  have  found  the  reason  clearly 
stated  in  the  almost  contemporaneous  account  of  the 
life  of  Jesus  as  given  in  the  Fourth  Gospel ;  and  which 
Christ  Himself  had  foretold  would  come  to  pass  when 
He  should  be  lifted  up  from  the  earth  and  be  crucified 
upon  the  Cross. 

We  know  the  impression  that  Christ  created  upon 
His  Immediate  contemporaries,  for  this  is  stated  in  the 
Gk)spels  and  especially  in  the  Epistles.  Kor  did  His  in- 
fluence wane  with  the  close  of  His  life  on  earth,  but 
through  succeeding  centuries  He  has  met  the  profound- 
est  aspirations  of  humanity  and  satisfied  the  deepest 
intellectual  as  well  as  moral  and  spiritual  wants  of 
mankind,  in  every  age  and  country,  and  among  people 
of  the  most  diverse  temperament,  antecedents,  environ- 
ment and  social  life ;  and  yet  assimilating  and  regen- 
erating them,  and  making  them  all  new  creatures  in 
Christ  Jesus,  with  changed  thoughts  and  lives,  hopes 


Christianity  Versus  Other  World  Religions    293 

and  joys,  ideals,  aspirations,  conduct  and  service,  with 
love  to  God  and  love  to  their  fellow  man. 

Contrast  to-day  with  the  mighty  influence  of  Christ 
Jesus,  throughout  the  world,  that  of  the  entire  pan- 
theon of  Greece  and  Rome.  Gone  is  the  power  of  all 
their  gods  and  goddesses,  and  they  have  no  place  in  the 
religious  forces  of  to-day,  except  in  the  classics  as  so 
much  ancient  history,  and  in  the  comparative  study  of 
religions,  for  they  have  no  living  power  in  the  hearts 
of  men,  no  organized  society  of  worshippers,  and  no 
temples  devoted  to  their  ancient  cult.  The  fires  of  the 
Vestals,  after  having  burned  continually  upon  the  altars 
for  more  than  eleven  centuries,  finally  died  out  forever, 
never  again  to  be  lighted,  whilst  Christ,  the  Light  of 
the  world,  has  lighted  up  the  darkest  places  of  the 
earth,  and  now  encircles  the  globe  with  the  most 
beneficent  institutions  for  the  healing  of  the  nations. 

I  had  a  clear  vision  of  this  contrast  the  day  I  visited 
the  ancient  theatre  in  Ephesus,  once  crowded  by  the 
zealous  followers  of  the  Ephesian  Artemis,  who  with  a 
bedlam  of  voices  cried  out,  "  Great  is  Diana  of  the 
Ephesians,"  and  it  was  not  safe  lor  Paul  the  missionary 
of  Christ  to  enter,  lest  that  angry  mob  should  tear 
him  limb  from  limb  for  daring  to  preach  the  Gospel  in 
their  city.  With  the  background  of  history,  and  these 
local  surroundings,  in  imagination  I  saw  it  all  as  an 
eye-witness,  and  how  hopeless  the  cause  of  Christ 
seemed  on  that  day,  for  then  the  preaching  of  Christ 
crucified  was  foolishness  to  the  Gentiles ;  but  how  the 
situation  has  changed  since  then!  That  once  great 
Diana,  the  Ephesian  Artemis,  whom  they  claimed  that 
all  Asia  and  the  world  worshipped,  has  not  a  single 
worshipper  to-day.    She  is  only  survived  by  her  marble. 


! 
't 


:i^^  V 


^  A}. 


294    The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

silver  and  bronze  figures,  and  I  have  several  exceed- 
ingly interesting  contemporary  numismatic  monuments, 
containing  the  fine  portraits  of  the  Emperor  Claudhis 
and  his  wife  Agrippina,  whilst,  on  the  reverse,  is  a 
splendid  reproduction  of  the  remarkable  original  image 
that  they  said  fell  down  from  Jupiter.  What  did 
Paul  think  as  he  looked  upon  this  imperial  authoriza- 
tion of  Diana's  worsliip  ? 

Once  the  haughty  Pharisees,  with  withering  scorn, 
silenced  the  father  of  the  boy  whom  Jesus  had  healed 
by  replying  to  him  in  contempt :  "  Are  ye  also  led 
astray  ?  Hath  any  of  the  rulers  believed  on  Him,  or  of 
the  Pharisees  ?  "  They  said  it  with  a  defiant  boast,  and 
felt  that  no  one  could  challenge  the  truth  of  their  state- 
ment, but  how  .iilferently  it  has  been  answered  during 
the  history  of  the  Christian  centuries,  and  how  abashed 
they  would  feel  in  the  light  of  subsequent  facts,  for 
the  greatest  rulers  of  the  world  bow  at  the  feet  of 
Christ,  and  acknowledge  Him  as  the  King  of  kings,  and 
the  Lord  over  all. 

Even  the  great  Apostle  to  the  Gentiles  might  be 
amazed  at  the  progress,  for  once  he  wrote  to  the  hum- 
ble members  of  the  church  at  Corinth :  "  For  behold 
your  calling,  that  not  many  wise  after  the  flesh,  not 
many  mighty,  not  many  noblo  are  called."  That  is  a 
contemporary  picture  of  the  social  standing  of  the 
Church  as  Paul  saw  it,  but  it  does  not  represent  the 
Church  of  to-day  that  contains  so  many  royal  families, 
distinguished  statesmen,  judges,  educators,  scientists, 
and  leaders  in  every  department  of  society,  as  well  as 
philanthropists,  who  bestow  their  many  millions  upon 
the  various  charities. 

In  the  World's  Exposition  in  Paris  there  was  a  great 


/' 


Christianity  Versus  Other  World  Religions    295 

collection  of  paintings  from  the  leading  artists  of 
Europe  and  America,  but  among  that  number  there 
were  three  that  attracted  the  multitudes.  As  works  of 
art  they  were  not  superior  to  many  others,  but  it  was 
their  particular  motive  that  held  the  thoughtful  ob- 
server, and  it  was  a  significant  fact  that  they  were  not 
only  religious  pictures,  but  in  each  instance  the  central 
figure  was  that  of  Christ,  and  I  will  give  but  a  brief 
description  of  one  of  them  :  It  was  a  large  canvas,  and 
in  the  foreground  lay  a  French  soldier  across  his  steed, 
for  both  had  been  slain  on  the  field  of  battle,  and  the 
brief  inscription,  "  Pro  Patria,"  told  the  sad  story ;  he 
died  for  his  country.  The  head  of  the  patriot  was 
resting  against  the  foot  of  a  cross  and  upon  that  cross 
was  nailed  the  Christ  of  history,  who  died  to  save  the 
world,  and  over  His  head  was  the  significant  inscription : 
"  Pro  ffumanitate."  Christ  dietl,  not  merely  for  His 
native  land,  but  for  all  the  nations  of  the  earth,  "  for 
God  so  loved  the  world  that  He  gave  His  only  begotten 
Son,  that  whosoever  believeth  in  Him  should  not  perish, 
but  have  everlasting  life." 

It  was  that  sacrifice  upon  the  Cross  that  gave  full 
proof  of  the  infinite  love  of  God.  and  His  estimate  of 
the  worth  of  man;  and  it  is  this  fact  that  touches 
and  draws  the  human  heart  towards  Him  who  first 
loved  us.  There  is  no  power  over  the  human  heart  like 
this  matchless  love  of  God,  and  we  can  trust  Him  amid 
the  most  trying  experiences  of  life — when  all  things  seem 
to  go  against  us.  It  sustained  the  Apostle  Paul,  and  he 
declared :  "  He  that  spared  not  His  own  Son,  but 
delivered  Him  up  for  us  all,  how  shall  He  not  also  with 
Him  freely  give  us  all  things?  .  .  .  Who  shall 
separate  us  from  the  love  of  Christ  ?    Shall  tribulation, 


i 


I 


^h^J•. 


'riii  'ii '  '     * 


B'U 

'1  •; 

1 

^Hi  ^ 

A 

^v^- 

V- 

\  ,i 

■■■I 

^H 

296   The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

or  anguish,  or  persecution,  or  famine,  or  nakedness,  or 
peril,  or  sword  ?  "  •*  God  is  faithful  who  will  not  suffer 
you  to  be  tempted  above  that  yo  are  able :  but  will  with 
the  temptation  make  also  the  way  tu  escape,  that  yo 
may  be  able  to  endure  it." 

When  a  prisoner  in  Rome  Paul  tells  us  that :  "  At 
my  first  defense  no  one  took  my  part  but  all  forsook 
me.  .  .  .  But  the  Lord  stood  by  me  and  strength- 
ened me ; — and  I  was  delivered  out  of  the  mouth  of  tbo 
lion.  The  Lord  will  deliver  me  from  every  evil  work, 
and  will  save  me  unto  Uis  heavenly  kingdom." 

Christ  tells  us  that  God  so  loved  the  world  ;  that  is, 
every  race  and  people,  and  not  merely  the  elect  and 
favoured  Jews  who  regarded  ♦hemselves  as  God's  chosen 
people,  not  only  much  dearer  in  His  eyes  than  the 
greatest  nations  of  the  earth,  but  they  excluded  all 
other  peoples  from  their  holy  temple  in  Jerusalem  and 
thus  denied  them  the  blessings  of  religion.  On  the 
balustrade  or  wall  around  the  temple,  that  separated  the 
Gentile  world  from  the  favoured  few,  were  placed 
oblong  blocks  of  stone  with  inscriptions  in  Hebrew 
and  Greek,  warning  all  but  Jews  not  to  enter,  on  pain 
of  death,  which  would  certainly  follow.  In  the  museum 
in  Constantinople  I  frequently  looked  upon  that  most 
interesting  monument  that  has  survived  the  temple  in 
Jerusalem,  and  which  Jesus  must  have  seen,  and  the 
Apostle  Paul  no  doubt  saw  it  often,  and  had  that  same 
Greek  inscription  in  mind  when  he  wrote  that  Christ 
Jesus  "  made  both  one,  and  broke  down  the  middle  wall 
of  partition,"  for  that  Jewish  exclusion  made  a  profound 
impression  upon  him  when  through  Christ  he  learned  of 
the  Fatherhood  of  God  and  the  brotherhood  of  man  also. 

Christianity  has  no  middle  wall  of  partition,  for  God 


A    H 


.  J 


Christianity  Versus  Other  World  Religions    297 


is  no  respecter  of  persons.  There  is  no  place  for  the 
caste  system  in  the  Jhristian  religion,  and  Christianity 
is  destined  to  become  the  one  religion  of  mankind,  for  it 
appeals  to  the  profoundest  needs  of  universal  humanity 
and  f  rum  which  there  is  no  escape,  and  which  are  not 
providefl  for  in  other  religions.  Great  changes  will 
come  with  every  succeeding  generation,  but  man's 
religious  nature  will  continue,  and  no  advance  in 
scientific  research  will  quench  its  longings.  At  times 
when  revisions  of  Horae  individual  cherished  statement 
of  belief  become  necessary,  in  view  of  the  liglit  and 
unquestioned  knowledge  gained  from  the  revelations  i)( 
science,  some  timid  stjuls,  with  narrow  vision,  and  who 
staked  all  their  faith  u|X)ii  the  preconceived  views  in 
vogue  years  ago,  dtx:lare  that  if  these  things  are  true 
then  the  Bible  is  not  true,  and  we  may  as  well  give  up 
our  Christian  faith,  for  all  is  lost.  But  such  reasoning 
is  absurd,  for,  as  an  example,  whilst  "he  established 
facts  of  evf'ution  and  the  origin  and  selection  of  the 
species  hav^  compelled  us  to  abandon  some  former  in- 
terpretaiions  of  the  Bible,  divine  truth  remains,  and 
God  remains  and  still  manifests  Himself  to  His  crea- 
tures, and  God's  ways  are  better  than  ours. 

The  man  who  is  persuaded  by  his  moral  and  religious 
coUMiiouaiess  that  Christ  dwells  in  him,  because  of  bis 
transformed  life  and  changed  relation  to  Him  and  to 
the  world,  has  a  testimony  that  cannot  be  shaken. 
That  conviction  is  as  real  to  him  as  any  of  his  five 
senses  and  no  Ic^c  can  disturb  it.  As  well  tell  him 
that  he  cannot  trust  his  eyes  and  that  there  is  no 
starUt  sky,  but  all  is  ^laya,  a  delusion.  "We  need  differ- 
ent standanls  and  methods  for  determining  or  testing 
certain  qualities. 


^ 


I 


h 


I  1 


*      t| 


I  J 


* 

r* 
N 

^ 

^ 
.< 


298  The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduisr.  ir  India 

Love  and  moral  character  cannot  be  determined  by 
examining  the  heart  with  a  stethoscope,  or  Roentgen 
rays,  nor  the  love  and  agony  of  a  broken-hearted 
mother  by  a  chemical  analysis  of  her  tears.  It  was  the 
overmastering  power  of  the  profound  personal  convic- 
tion that  Christ  was  with  them  that  gave  the  disciples 
invincible  faith,  and  they  went  forth  like  the  immortals 
and  with  more  than  imperial  power  to  conquer  the 
world  for  Christ ;  and  hence  they  refused  to  be  silenced 
by  the  rulers  and  in  defense  replied :  "  We  ought  to 
obey  God  rather  than  man." 

Some  timid  souls  at  times  tremble  lest  religion  has 
lost  its  supreme  place  in  the  world,  in  view  of  the 
restatement  of  certain  religious  beliefs  made  necessary 
\fj  historic  and  scientific  discovery,  just  as  when  men 
learned  of  the  place  that  evolution  had  in  the  world, 
overlooking  the  fact  of  law  and  order  in  God's  creation. 
The  origin  of  the  variations  of  types  or  species  by  the 
law  or  principle  of  natural  selection,  as  well  as  the 
process  of  evolution,  are  well  established  truths,  and 
M  .1^  should  any  one  be  frightened  at  the  disco vory  of 
God's  ovm  immutable  laws  ?  We  should  welcome  such 
knowledge  and  willingly  abandon  our  inherited  errone- 
ous views,  for  the  ways  of  the  Almighty  are  far  better 
than  what  we  once  may  have  thought  that  they  should 
have  been.  Some  Christians  insisted  that  the  earth 
did  not  revolve  on  its  axis  around  the  sun,  but  that  God 
made  the  sun  to  revolve  around  the  earth,  or,  at  least, 
should  have  done  so.  With  the  vote  of  the  council 
to  the  contrary  the  earth  still  revolved.  Others  con- 
tended that  it  was  a  cardinal  doctrine  of  faith  that  the 
Creator  created  the  world  in  six  days  of  twenty -four 
hours  each,  and  that  to  deny  it  was  to  repudiate  the 


Christianity  Versus  Other  World  Religions    299 

Bible  aad  God's  own  testimony,  and  abandon  faith  in 
religion.  But  that  was  not  the  inevitable  logic  of  the 
situation,  for  whilst  every  scholar  has  abandoned  that 
erroneous  theory,  religion  did  not  vanish  when  some 
of  man's  opinions  were  found  to  be  erroneous,  for  man 
will  never  outgrow  his  religious  nature  no  more  than 
he  will  advance  beyond  his  moral  consciousness,  and 
religion  alone  will  satisfy  the  deepest  needs  of  his 
being.  Amid  the  dark  experiences  of  life  that  try 
men's  souls  he  will  crave  for  that  peace  of  God  that 
passeth  all  understanding,  keeping  the  heart  and  mind 
in  Christ  Jesus. 

From  age  to  age  the  world  will  advance  in  knowledge 
and  outgrow  many  of  the  theories  once  defended  by 
their  advocates,  but  God  will  remain  the  same,  al- 
though some  of  man's  opinions  and  interpretations  of 
the  Being  of  God  and  His  dealings  with  men  must  be 
changed.  Whilst  the  genesis  of  many  religious  teach- 
ings and  practices  were  divine,  the  verdict  of  history 
shows  that  certain  ones  were  as  certainly  human,  and  a 
few  of  them  even  inhuman.  The  history  of  religions 
shows  that  no  being  has  been  so  misunderstood  and 
misrepresented  as  God  our  heavenly  Father,  and  hence 
the  great  varieties  and  often  most  absurd  vagaries  of 
religious  beliefs  and  practices.  Even  the  Christian 
Church  at  times  conceived  of  the  Almighty,  not  as  the 
God  of  love  and  all  mercy,  but  of  cruel  hate  towards 
mankind,  and  that  Christ  came  and  died  on  the  cross  in 
order  that  His  blood  might  appease  and  reconcile  God 
to  us.  The  fact  is  that  the  very  opposite  is  true,  for 
man  was  estranged  and  needed  to  be  reconciled  and  not 
God,  and  He  was  in  Christ  reconciling  the  world  imto 
Himself.    In  truth  God  was'unchanged.    He  was  always 


300  The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

our  merciful  and  loving  heavenly  Father,  and  it  was 
because  He  so  loved  the  world  that  He  gave  His  only 
begotten  Son,  and  hence  too  we  must  not  separate  our 
heavenly  Father  from  that  sacrifice  on  the  cross. 

I  can  never  look  upon  that  famous  fresco  of  the  Last 
Judgment  without  a  feeUng  of  revulsion,  for  that  hor- 
rible scene  is  not  only  appalling,  but  a  caricature  of  the 
meek  and  lowly  Saviour,  who  is  represented  as  a  Nero, 
and  as  though  He  found  satisfaction  in  the  tortures  of 
the  lost  sons  and  daughters.    No  wrathful  Jove  dis- 
played less  feeling  of  sympathy  and  love  than  has  been 
depicted  in  that  face  of  Jesus.    No  wonder  that  insti- 
tutions like  the  Spanish  Inquisition  were  bom  and 
flourished  when  the  fact  of  God's  boundless  love  failed 
to  be  emphasized,  and  bigotry  and  hate  gave  rise  to 
some  of  the  saddest  and  blackest  pages  of  history.    All 
Christians  of  whatever  name  deplore  the  evils  of  that 
age,  and  it  would  be  utterly  impossible  to  repeat  them, 
for  the  Church  is  more  Christlike  to4ay,  and  never  be- 
fore in  Christendom  was  the  love  of  God  so  manifest 
in  the  lives  of  men,  and  never  was  the  abiding  sense  of 
the  brotherhood  of  man  so  strong  and  universally  rec- 
ognized in  the  common  feeling  of  humanity— that  there 
is  but  one  God  and  Father  of  us  all,  and  who  revealed 
Himself  to  us  through  His  Son. 

At  times  the  Church,  in  common  with  some  scientists 
of  the  age,  went  astray  in  its  teachings  of  science  and 
made  our  heavenly  Father  responsible  for  many  of  the 
most  dreadful  sufferings  that  ever  afflicted  mankind. 
Being  without  the  knowledge  of  the  germ  theory  and 
the  laws  of  sanitation,  they  attributed  to  the  displeas- 
ure of  the  Almighty  the  chief  evils  of  life,  including 
disease,  plagues,  pestilence,  fire  and  sword,  with  the 


Christianity  Versus  Other  World  Religions    301 

appalling  disasters  on  sea  and  land,  not  excepting  earth- 
quakes  and  tornadoes,  as  well  as  the  shocking  religions 
persecutions  and  slaughter  of  the  innocent  ones.  No 
intelligent  man  today,  suffering  from  typhoid  fever, 
would  look  up  into  the  face  of  Jesus  and  say,  *'  Thou 
hast  brought  this  affliction  upon  me,"  and  yet  such  a 
blasphemous  charge  would  be  just  what  men  once  be- 
lieved and  taught. 

Whilst  freely  confessing  and  deploring  the  short- 
comings of  the  Church  and  many  of  which  were  the 
common  product  of  the  times,  but  none  of  which  were 
the  logical  and  legitimate  fruits  of  the  Gospel,  we  must 
not  overlook  the  fact  of  the  direct  and  inestimable 
blessings  that  have  elevated  humanity  through  the 
preaching  of  the  GospeL  Through  the  centuries  it  has 
been  good  news  to  those  who  heard  it,  and  made  life 
worth  the  living  by  ennobling  it,  and  showing  its  in- 
separable relation  to  the  eternal  future. 

The  question  of  the  ages  has  been:  "If  a  man  die, 
shall  he*live  again  ?  "  Men  have  speculated  and  hoped, 
but  Christ  not  only  proclaimed  it  in  words,  but  gave 
full  proof  at  Nain  and  Bethany,  as  well  as  on  the  third 
day  when  He  Himself  rose  from  the  dead, — bring- 
ing life  and  immortality  to  light  He  declares  that 
"  because  I  live,  ye  shall  live  also," — and  "  I  will  come 
again  and  receive  you  unto  Myself,  that  where  I  am, 
there  ye  shall  be  also."  Since  death  is  universal  we 
cannot  ovM*estimate  the  comfort  and  sustaining  power 
that  has  come  from  our  assurance  of  a  blessed  and 
eternal  existence.  This  enabled  the  Apostle  after  many 
years  of  sev6re  trials  and  sufferings  to  exclaim :  "  Our 
light  affliction,  which  is  for  the  moment,  worketh  for 
us  more  and  more  exceedingly  an  eternal  weight  of 


m 


302  The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

glory;  while  we  look  not  at  the  things  which  are  seen, 
but  at  the  thinps  which  are  not  seen :  for  the  things 
which  are  seen  are  temporal ;  but  the  things  which  are 
not  seen  are  eternal  For  we  know  that  if  the  earthly 
house  of  our  tabernacle  be  dissolved,  we  have  a  building 
from  God,  a  house  not  made  with  hands,  eternal,  in  the 
heavens."  That  confidence  made  Paul  the  unconquer- 
able hero,  and  he  would  have  all  believers  share  it  with 
him  as  he  writes  to  the  Ohurch  at  Thessalonica. 

With  such  assurances  of  Qod^a  matchless  love,  and 
our  eternal  welfare,  it  is  possible  for  us  to  endure  and 
triumph,  knowing  that  we  are  not  left  alone  to  our  own 
strength,  but  that  we  are  "  kept  by  the  power  of  God 
unto  salvation,"  and  He  encourages  us  to  cast  all  our 
care  upon  Him  because  He  cares  for  us.  The  great 
Apostle  to  the  Gentiles,  with  trying  experiences  that  try 
the  souk  of  few  men,  had  an  opportunity  to  make  the 
most  practical  test  of  Christ's  promised  sustaining 
power.  He  had  learned  to  know  and  trust  Christ  as 
he  preached  Him  amid  much  persecution,  but  he  de- 
clared with  the  conviction  of  certainty  that  had  been 
bom  of  years  of  antecedent  experience  in  the  service  of 
his  Master :  "  I  can  do  all  things  in  Him  that  strength- 
eneth  me." 

At  times  the  professed  followers  of  Christ  and  even 
leaders  in  the  Church  may  have  lost  sight  of  their 
Divine  Master,  and  turned  from  the  ideals  of  His  spirit 
and  teachings,  and  brought  reproach  upon  the  Church ; 
and  yet  making  due  allowance  for  the  many  and  great- 
est evils  committed  under  the  sanction  and  authority  of 
the  Church,  there  is  no  institution  on  earth  that  is  com- 
parable with  its  unselfish  character  and  lofty  influence 
over  mankind.    It  has  been  the  foremost  and  mightiest 


Christianity  Versus  Other  World  Religions    303 

moral  and  spiritual  transforming  power  throughout  the 
world,  and  as  a  sociological  and  economic  agency  among 
men  it  is  invaluable  to  society  and  the  state.  It  is  not 
the  cost  of  the  Church  that  bankrupts  and  impover- 
ishes the  homes,  but  it  is  sin  that  destroys  happiness, 
degrades  and  makes  paupers,  and  robs  men  of  every- 
thing that  makes  life  worth  the  living,  whilst  the 
Church  surrounds  the  young  and  families  with  safe- 
guards, and  ennobles  them  by  giving  lofty  moral  and 
spiritual  ideals,  an''  enjoining  the  conscientious  fidelity 
to  their  neighbour  and  the  state  as  well  as  to  God. 

Auguste  Sabatier  in  his  "  Religions  of  Authority  "  has 
expressed  in  a  most  forcible  juinner  his  estimate  of  the 
supreme  place  of  the  Church  and  I  quote  it  with  hearty 
approval:  "Taken  all  in  all  where  shall  we  find  a 
higher  or  more  universal  school  of  respect  and  virtue 
than  m  the  Church,  a  more  efScacious  means  of  comfort 
and  consc  ion  than  the  communion  of  the  brethren,  a 
safer  tut  y  shelter  for  souls  still  in  theu:  minority  ? 
And  what  part  played  in  history  is  comparable  to  that 
of  the  Church  in  the  history  of  European  civilization  ? 
On  the  other  hand,  what  can  we  say  of  the  Bible  which 
would  not  fall  short  of  the  reality?  It  is  the  book 
above  all  books,  light  of  the  conscience,  bread  of  the 
soul,  leaven  of  all  reforms.  It  is  the  lamp  that  hangs 
from  the  arched  roof  of  the  sanctuary  to  give  light  to 
those  who  are  seeking  Qtod.  The  destiny  of  holiness  on 
earth  is  irrevocably  imked  with  the  destiny  of  the  Bible. 
Christianity  can  neither  realize  nor  propagate  herself 
without  the  Church ;  the  Church  cannot  live  without 
the  Bible,  that  original  source  and  classic  norm  of  re- 
ligious life  as  it  is  manifested  in  the  Church  itself. 
These  are  potencies  of  fact,  of  historic  authority." 


i 


^ 

ip 


304  The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

Christ  committed  the  spread  of^e  (^^\^^^}^ 
redemption  of  the  world,  to  the  Church,  and  as  you 
^lo?the  faithful  a^d  devoted  CJrisUau  massion^y 
T    1  the  world,  you  will  see  the  blessed  frmte  of  the 
reKeuerating.  civUiziDg  and  upliftmg  power  of  Chm- 
Sy  in  every  land  and  among  every  pe^te  who 
S^^e  a^pted  the  Gospel  of  good  news.    Wherever 
Sjlm^nanes  have  expended  their  influence  there^ 
Ln  an  awakening  of  the  conscience,  foUowed  by  so^i^ 
transformation  of  character  in  the  mdividual  aa  wdl^ 
in  society     Intellectual  activity  and  mdustnal  improve- 
"eTh'ave  followed,  for  the  highest  civUization  « 
inseparable  from  Christianity.    Hence  degradmg  super- 
stitions,  idolatry  and  barbaric  praxjtices  have  disa^ 
SarTand  a  tmnsformed  as  well  as  enhghtened  people 
CTap^red,  for  old  things  have  passed  away  and 
SlyhXLcomenewcreatur^inChrbtJ..u.   H^^^ 
and  grievous  burdens  have  been  removed,  higher  ethical 
standards  substituted  for  the  old,  wiAmore  refined  and 
cultured  manners,  with  educational  advantages  provided 

"f  01*  fl.ll 

With  a  changed  and  ennobled  religious  consciousness, 
their  new  con^ption  of  God  as  their  loving  heavenly 
F^er,  their  mental  attitude  and  relation  toHimbecame 

changed;  and  they  have  come  in  P<f«««^°^  ?*^^^,:^ 
idS^otives,inspirations.aspirationshopesa^d3opm 

the  knowledge  of  being  the  sons  and  daughters  of  Go^ 
and  brother  or  sister  to  their  neighbour  Wrth  such  a 
moral  consciousness  they  found  themselves  Uvmg  in  a 
different  world,  and  that  they  themselves  were  nobler 
beings,  and  with  a  higher  and  more  glonous  destiny 
on  f  rth  than  they  ever  conceived  of  until  C^  ^^^ 
Light  of  the  world,  came  to  them,  and  mspired  them 


Christianity  Versus  Other  World  Religions    305 

with  new  hopes.  Many  have  risen  in  their  might  and 
are  now  filling  important  stations  and  rendering 
valuable  service  to  their  people. 

As  an  example  I  need  but  mention  the  familiar  name 
of  Panditi  Ramabai,  once  the  mournful  Hindu  widow, 
but  whom  Christ  transformed  into  a  new  creature, 
fitted  for  a  wonderful  mission  in  behalf  of  the  oppressed 
widows  of  her  own  people,  and  to-day  the  best  known 
woman  in  India,  and  no  Hindu  woman  in  all  the  history 
of  that  country  has  done  so  much  f  .^-  the  unfortunate 
women  of  India.  Never  shaU  I  forget  the  impression 
made  upon  me  when  we  met  her  at  Khedgaon  and  saw 
her  great  and  far-reaching  work,  not  merely  among 
the  thousands  whilst  connected  with  that  remarkable 
institution,  but  they  have  gone  forth  throughout  the 
land,  and  leavened  tens  of  thousands  of  homes  with 
messages  of  Christ's  love. 

I  recall  another  example  of  which  I  learned  when 
travelling  in  that  country  where  woman  has  not  re- 
ceived her  own.  In  this  instance  it  was  a  poor  little 
orphan  girl  from  the  outoastes.  There  was  something 
about  her  deplorable  condition  that  attracted  the  special 
attention  and  sympathy  of  the  wife  of  a  missionary, 
and  she  was  taken  home,  placed  under  Christian 
influences  and  educated.  Later  she  graduated  in 
medicine,  and  displayed  unusual  qualities,  and  that  once 
neglected  and  despised  outcaste  orphan  girl  was  then 
at  the  head  of  the  woman's  department  of  one  of  the 
leading  government  hospitals  in  India.  That  showed 
what  Christianity  could  do  for  the  women  of  India, 
and  that  was  sufficient  to  justify  the  hopes  of  those 
engaged  in  the  work  to  evangelize  that  people. 

Hinduism  in  forty  centuries  failed  to  produce  one 


n 


3o6   The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 


t 


•4  I'  '  ^ 


SQoh  example  in  all  India,  and  there  is  no  hope  for  the 
countless  millions  without  Christianity,  for  Hindnism 
has  been  tried  and  found  wanting.  With  the  progress 
of  the  Christian  missionaries  marvellous  changes  have 
taken  place,  and  boys  from  the  once  hopeless  ontcastes 
that  had  been  abandoned  by  Hinduism  have  been 
trained  in  the  mission  schools,  and  some  of  them  who 
later  entered  the  universities  even  carried  off  some  of 
the  highest  honours. 

I  witnessed  an  impressive  illustration  during  the 
commencement  exercises  of  the  Forman  Christian 
College  at  Lahore  m  the  Punjab ;  and  I  had  similar 
impressions  when  visiting  the  flourishing  college  at 
Guntur.  Some  of  the  most  convincing  apologetics  for 
Christianity  may  be  found  in  the  missions  in  India. 
In  confirmation  of  my  estimate,  Sir  Wm.  Mackworth 
Young,  lieutenant-governor  of  the  Punjab,  writes: 
"  As  a  business  man,  speaking  to  business  men,  I  am 
prepared  to  say  that  the  work  which  has  been  done  by 
missionary  agency  in  India  exceeds  in  importance  all 
that  has  been  done,  and  much  has  been  done,  by  the 
British  government  in  India  since  its  commencement" 
Sir  Augustus  K.  Thompson,  lieutenant-governor  of 
Bengal,  says :  "  In  my  judgment  Christian  missionaries 
have  done  more  real  and  lasting  good  to  the  people  of 
India  than  all  other  agencies  combined.  They  have 
been  the  salt  of  the  country,  and  the  true  saviours  of 
the  empire." 

The  same  is  true  of  the  power  of  the  Gkwpel  in 
whatever  country  the  missionary  may  have  preached 
it,  and  Mr.  Charles  Darwin,  the  renowned  naturalist 
and  traveller,  adds  his  high  testimony  as  the  result  of 
personal  observation  :  "  The  success  of  the  mission  in 


(    I.'  ■   J 


4,  rf 


Christianity  Versus  Other  World  Religions    307 

Terra  Del  Fuego  is  most  wonderful  and  charms  me,  as 
I  always  prophesied  utter  failure.  I  could  not  have 
believed  that  all  the  missionaries  in  the  world  could 
have  made  tho  Fuegians  honest.  The  mission  is  a 
grand  success."  "  The  lesson  of  the  missionary  is  the 
enchanter's  wand."  "  Remember  that  human  sacrifices 
and  the  power  of  an  idolatrous  priesthood — a  system 
of  profligacy  unparallelled  in  any  other  part  of  the 
world— infanticide  a  consequence  of  that  sjrstem — the 
bloody  wars,  where  the  conquerors  spared  neither 
women  nor  children — that  all  these  have  been  abol- 
ished, and  that  dishonesty,  intemperance,  and  licentious- 
ness have  been  greatly  reduced  by  Christianity.'^  And 
all  this  had  been  accomplished  within  a  comparatively 
brief  period  of  not  many  years,  and  what  better  de- 
fense for  the  Gospel  can  be  offered,  and  what  mightier 
credentials  for  the  divine  origin  of  Christianity  can  be 
presented  than  the  marvellous  fruits  that  have  followed 
the  preaching  of  the  (Jospel  by  the  Christian  mission- 
ary in  the  march  of  Christianity  around  the  world 
during  the  nineteen  centuries  ? 

The  Hon.  Charles  Denby,  LL.  D.,  who  for  thirteen 
years  was  United  States  Minister  to  China,  was  generous 
in  hb  praise  of  the  missionaries  and  their  work  in  that 
country,  and  he  declared  that  the  converts  were 
"  morally,  mentally  and  spiritually  benefited  by  their 
teachings."  "If  the  missionaries  had  done  nothing 
else  for  China,  the  amelioration  of  the  condition  of  the 
women  would  be  glory  enough.  It  is  said  that  15,000 
converts  were  killed  during  the  riots,  and  not  as  many 
as  two  apostatized."  That  was  proof  of  their  genuine 
character,  and  that  they  were  not  merely  "  rice  Chris- 
tians," as  the  enemies  of  foreign  missions  sneeringly 


M 


pf  i 


'   I   'I 


308   The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

call  them.  United  States  Minister  Denby  says  that  the 
missionaries  are  benefactors  of  humanity  and  deserv- 
ing our  support  "  Civilization  owes  them  a  vast  debt. 
They  have  been  the  educators,  physicians  and  almoners 
of  the  Chinese.  They  are  the  early  and  only  trans- 
lators, interpreters  and  writers  of  the  Chinese.  To 
them  we  owe  our  dictionaries,  histories  and  translations 
of  Chinese  works.  They  have  scattered  the  Bible 
broadcast,  and  have  prepared  many  school-books  in 
Chinesa  Commerce  and  civilization  follow  where 
these  unselfish  pioneers  have  blazed  the  way.  Believe 
nobody  when  he  sneers  at  the  missionary.  The  man  is 
«mply  not  posted  on  the  work." 

Major  Edwin  H.  Conger,  United  States  Minister  to 
China,  and  whom  I  heard  at  the  Convention  of  the  Gen- 
eral Synod,  bears  this  high  tribute  to  the  missionaries : 
"  They  are  the  pioneers  in  all  that  country.    They  are 
invariably  the  pioneers  of  Western  civilization.    It  is 
they  who,  armed  with  the  Bible  and  school-books,  and 
sustained  by  a  faith  which  gives  them  unflinching 
courage,  have  penetrated  the  darkest  interior  of  the 
great  empire,  hitherto  unvisited  by  foreigners,  blazed 
the  way  for  the  oncoming  commerce  which  everywhere 
follows   them.    It   was  they  who  first  planted  the 
banner  of  the  Prince  of  Peace  in  every  place  where 
now  floats  the  flag  of  commerce  and  trade.    The  dim 
pathways  which  they  travel,  sometimes  marking  them 
with  their  blood,  are  rapidly  being  transformed  into 
great  highways  of  travel  and  trade,  and  are  fast  be- 
coming lined  with  schoolhouses  and  railway  stations, 
where  heretofore  were  found  only  idolatrous  shrines 
and  lodging  houses  for  wheelbarrow  men  and  pack- 
mules."    The  missionaries  have  not  been  the  cause  of 


^•i) 


14 

a 


•/I 


it  I 

I 


W  'I' 


Mli.i 


1 

Christianity  Venus  Other  World  Religions    309 

trouble  in  China  as  charged  by  wme  of  their  enemies, 
and  the  Hon.  John  Barrett,  United  Stateu  Minister  and 
Consul  General  to  Siam,  says:  "In  my  experience  as 
United  States  Minister,  one  hundred  and  fifty  mission- 
aries, scattered  over  a  land  as  large  as  the  Gennan 
empire,  gave  me  less  trouble  in  five  years  than  fifteen 
business  men  or  merchants  gave  me  in  five  months." 

I  have  often  been  asked  how  I  account  for  the  con- 
tradictory reports  concerning  the  missionaries,  and  in 
reply  I  cannot  do  better  than  to  quote  from  the  Hon. 
Charles  Denby :  "  In  general,  the  tourists  who  spend  a 
few  days  or  weeks  in  China  sneer  at  the  missionaries 
or  damn  them  with  faint  praise.    .    .    •    Tourists  who 
never  put  foot  in  a  missionary  compound  have  written 
books,  nevertheless,  teeming  with  criticism  on  the  work 
of  missions.    I  recall  two  prominent  instances.    One 
of  the  two  was  a  distinguished  American,  who  stayed 
three  weeks  in  my  legation.    I  particularly  invited 
him  to  visit  the  mission  stations  in  Peking,  but  he  de- 
clined to  do  so.    He  knew  absolutely  nothing  of  mis- 
sionary work,  but  in  his  book  he  derided  the  whole 
system.    The  other  gentleman  was  a  celebrated  Eng- 
lishman, who  has  filled  the  highest  offices  under  the 
Crown.    He  bitterly  attacked  the  missionaries  one  day 
in  conversation  with  me.    I  asked  him  if  he  had  ever 
visited  or  inspected  any  mission  compound.    He  said 
he  never  had."' 

I  heard  the  common  stereotyped  criticisms  from 
various  foreigners  Uving  in  the  Eastern  ports,  who 
volunteered  to  prejudice  me  against  the  missionaries, 
but  they  were  manifestly  unfair  and  unreliable,  as  I 
learned  from  personal  observation  among  the  many 
missions  in  Japan,  Korea,  China  and  India.    Some  .  " 


i 

r- 


310  The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 


l*'^l*l 


Hip"  ^J 
■ill ^  ■•' ' 

rl;     „ 


the  reasons  for  their  attfck  were  highly  suggestive, 
and  the  situation  may  be  pertly  illustrated  from  a  re- 
markable incident  of  history  from  the  Hawaiian 
Islands.  Dnring  the  weeks  spent  there,  I  had  many 
interviews  with  prominent  people  who  had  spent  their 
lives  on  the  islands. 

I  gathered  much  important  information  from  some 
of  the  distinguished  children  of  the  early  missionaries, 
including  Dr.  Alexander,  the  historian,  the  venerable 
scholar,  Dr.  Hiram  Bingham,  and  Mrs.  Persis  O.  Thurs- 
ton Taylor,  daughter  of  the  Reverend  Thurston  who 
was  one  of  the  first  two  missionaries  to  these  islands  of 
the  Pacific.  She  was  born  t.t  Honolulu  within  a  year 
after  they  landed,  and  she  had  the  distinction  of  being 
the  first  child  of  white  parents  born  on  the  islands  of 
Hawaii,  and  as  she  had  passed  more  than  fourscore 
years  I  appreciated  my  opportunity  for  gaining  valu- 
able information  bearing  upon  the  history  of  Chris- 
tianity on  those  islands.  I  was  also  deeply  impressed 
with  the  fact  that  she  was  the  sole  existing  living  wit- 
ness from  those  early  times,  and  the  only  connecting 
link  between  the  planting  of  the  mission  and  its  suc- 
ceeding growth  to  the  present  time.  With  her  advent 
every  Hawaiian  was  a  pagan,  but  she  lived  to  see  the 
day  when  they  had  become  so  transformed  by  the 
Gospel  that  there  were  no  longer  any  pagans  among 
them. 

However,  we  must  not  repeat  the  erroneous  and  gen- 
eral impressions  that  the  native  Hawaiians,  or  Sand- 
wich Islanders  as  they  were  once  called,  were  cannibals, 
for  the  fact  is  that  cannibalism  was  not  one  of  their  bar- 
barous practiceij,  but  they  regarded  such  a  shocking  cus- 
tom with  horror  and  detestation.    They  had  enough  sins 


Christianity  Versus  Other  Worid  Religions   31 1 


of  pagan  degradation  to  answer  for  and  I  was  gratefol  to 
learn  that  cannibalism  was  not  one  of  them.  Perhaps 
the  impression  grew  from  the  disposition  that  was  made 
of  the  body  of  Captain  Cook,  and  the  accidental  eating 
of  his  heart  by  a  native,  who  stole  it  from  a  tree 
where  it  was  suspended  to  dry,  he  supposing  it  to  be 
the  heart  of  a  swine.  According  to  their  custom  with 
celebrities,  the  body  had  been  boiled  in  a  calabash,  not 
to  feed  the  warriors,  but  that  the  flesh  might  be  re- 
moved from  the  bones  and  burned,  whilst  the  bones 
were  to  be  preserved  and  deified. 

My  aged  informer  knew  very  well  and  had  often 
conversed  with  several  of  the  Hawaiians  who  had  been 
present  at  the  time  of  the  t.  io  death  of  Captain  Cook, 
who  really  suffered  the  penalty  of  his  own  sins,  com- 
mitted against  that  superstitious  and  idolatrous  people. 
He  took  undue  advantage  of  that  ignorant  people  by 
posing  as  a  god,  and  receiving  divine  honours,  for  ''  he 
moved  among  them  as  an  earthly  deity,  observed, 
feared  and  worshipped."  On  one  occasion  he  was  re- 
ceived with  much  religious  pomp,  and  the  "priests 
made  offerings  and  prayers  to  their  supposed  patron 
divinity,"  whilst  the  king  was  overawed  in  the  presence 
of  the  incarnation  of  the  god  Lono,  as  they  mistook  him 
to  be.  They  not  only  worshipped  him  with  solemn 
ceremonies  and  prayers,  but  the  king  on  entering  the 
shrine  or  tent  of  the  strange  god  acknowledged  him 
with  proper  obeisance,  and  removing  his  own  magnifi- 
cent feather  helmet  and  cloak,  composed  of  the  rarest 
and  most  beautiful  feathers,  placed  them  upon  the  head 
and  shoulders  of  the  famous  navigator  who  was  now 
assuming  the  new  r61e  of  a  divinity.  He  practiced  the 
deception  well,  and  a  half  dozen  more  of  the  costly 


I; 


0 


J  ■; 

s 

% 

1 

>?^ 

^ 


312  The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

feather  robes  were  hiid  at  his  feet  by  the  King  Eala- 
niopuu,  whose  confidence  Captain  Cook  had  won  and 
abused.  The  estimated  value  of  these  gifts  might  be 
reckoned  by  thousands  of  dollars,  and  as  a  return  for 
these  munificent  royal  presents,  the  foreign  god  took  the 
king  and  his  cliiefs  on  board  his  ship,  and  presented  the 
king — shame  to  say — with  a  linen  shirt  and  a  cutlass, 
a  gift  scarcely  in  keeping  with  the  supposed  wealth 
and  generosity  of  a  local  god. 

With  all  our  admiration  for  Captain  Cook  as  a  navi- 
gator we  must  condemn  his  inexcusable  conduct  among 
the  Hawaiians,  and  I  had  no  sentimental  tears  to  shed 
when  visiting  his  lonely  grave  on  the  shore  of  the  bay 
where  a  suitable  monument  marks  the  resting  place  of 
a  remnant  of  his  bones  obtained  from  the  natives.  Dr. 
Alexander,  the  historian,  as  well  as  Mrs.  Taylor  re- 
ceived their  information  from  eye-witnesses,  including 
the  widow  of  King  Kalaniopuu  whom  Captain  Cook 
had  attempted  to  entice  on  board,  but  she  fearing  some 
treachery  kept  near  her  royal  spouse.  Chiefs  who  sus- 
pected the  plot  prevented  his  yielding  to  the  overtures 
from  the  foreigners  and  after  the  death  of  several,  a 
warrior  thrust  a  spear  through  the  body  of  the  great 
navigator  and  he  fell  dead. 

I  have  introduced  this  episode  as  an  example  of  the 
baneful  moral  influence  that  many  foreigners  from 
Christian  lands  have  exerted  upon  the  pagan  world,  and 
against  the  progress  of  Christianity,  for  the  natives  are 
confused  by  immoralities  which  they  abhor ;  for  they 
often  fail  to  discriminate  between  a  Christian  and  a 
man  from  a  Christian  country,  and  the  two  are  not 
necessarily  synonymous.  Too  many  foreigners  in  the 
East,  separated  ht)m  father  and  mother,  and  with  the 


.i 


Qirtstianity  Versus  Other  World  Religions    313 


lowering  of  ethical  standards  and  living  the  life  of  a 
prodigal  in  a  strange  land,  have  become  the  enemies  of 
those  men  and  women  who  condemn  their  sins.  These 
moral  degenerates  are  generally  the  missionary  de- 
tractors, and  who  declare  that  foreign  missions  are  a 
failure,  and  that  **  the  native  religion  is  far  better  for 
the  people  than  Christianity,  which  inevitably  makes 
them  hypocrites  and  worse  than  they  were  before  their 
conversion." 

Unfortunately  they  prejudice  certain  hurried  tourists 
who  have  neither  time  nor  inclination  to  visit  the  mis- 
sion fields.  It  was  the  Europeans  and  among  them  the 
sailors  of  Captain  Cook  who  inoculated  the  Hawaiians 
with  nameless  fatal  diseases  that  have  spread  with  fear- 
ful mortality  in  their  ineradicable  transmission  from 
generation  to  generation,  and  which  have  doomed  the 
native  Hawaiian  race  to  final  extinction  according  to 
the  belief  of  some  physicians.  No  such  marvellous  work 
of  the  Gospel  among  a  basely  degraded  pagan  people 
had  been  witnessed  since  apostolic  times. 

As  the  Gospel  spread  it  grew  with  accumulated 
power,  and  like  a  great  tidal  wave  it  swept  with  irre- 
sistible force  over  the  islands,  and  idolatrous  practices 
and  still  worse  forms  of  disgusting  vice  disappeared. 
It  was  evident  in  the  transformed  and  ennobled  lives 
that  a  divine  regenerating  power  had  come  among 
them,  for  the  people  themselves  were  the  unmistakable 
witnesses,  and  they  knev?^  as  well  as  others  that  they 
were  new  creatures  in  Christ  Jesus.  Within  a  few 
years  had  been  accomplished  that  which  men  would 
have  said  was  impossible.  Homes  were  refined  and 
purified,  thousands  became  faithful  members  of  the 
Church,  and  large  houses  of  worship  were  erected,  one 


314  The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduisna  in' India 

with  a  capacity  of  five  thoosand  souls,  and  it  was  often 
crowded  with  earnest  worshippers. 

All  honour  and  gratitude  are  due  to  the  unselfish  and 
consecrated  band  of  missionaries  who  went  out  from 
our  country  to  save  the  degraded  flAwaiians  who  were 
perishing  from  their  shocking  vices— and  had  been  left 
without  hope  and  without  the  knowledge  of  God.  The 
missionaries  appealed  to  their  conscience  and  preached 
Christ  unto  them,— condemning  their  sins  and  pointing 
the  way  of  salvation.  With  quickened  and  enlightened 
conscience  they  responded  to  the  appeals  and  excepted 
the  gospel  message  with  its  ideuls.  Their  moral  char- 
acter and  lives  were  elevated,  their  homes  purified,  as 
they  became  restored  to  right  relations  to  God  and  to 
their  fellow  men. 

And  yet,  strange  to  say,  some  of  these  same  self- 
sacrificing  and  devoted  missionaries  met  with  strong 
opposition  and  were  bitterly  persecuted  by  Pome  godless 
foreigners  who  had  been  accustomed  to  lana  with  their 
seamen  and  corrupt  the  natives  still  more,  and  afflicted 
them  with  the  horrible  diseases  that  have  threatened 
the  extermination  of  the  Hawaiiaa  nuje.  The  moral 
reforms  of  the  Christian  missionaries  stood  in  the  way 
of  the  ruinous  immoral  license  practiced  by  the  foreign 
crew  up  to  this  time,  and  when  the  missionaries  de- 
nounced their  shameful  vice  a  id  appealed  to  the  local 
powers  to  prevent  its  continuance,  they  were  attacked, 
severely  punished  and  barely  escaped  with  their  Uves. 
No  doubt  these  same  enemies  of  God  and  the  Hawaiians 
became  missionary  detractors  after  that  eve^.t,  and  told 
Europeans  that  the  work  of  the  American  missionaries 
was  another  failure  and  that  the  people  became  worse 
after  their  conversion  to  Christianity. 


Christianity  Versus  Other  World  Religions    315 


I  admit  that  some  of  the  criticisms  in  reference  to 
certain  missionaries  and  missions  are  true  so  far  as  they 
relate  to  particular  instances,  but  they  are  unjust  and 
misleading  because  of  lack  of  discrimination,  and  the 
proper  sense  of  proportion,  for  their  reports  are  made 
to  reflect  upon  the  work  of  foreign  missions  as  a 
whole.  I  well  remember  what  the  Prime  Minister 
of  Japan,  Count  Okuma,  said  to  me  in  a  long  interview 
in  his  home,  during  which  I  asked  him  many  questions 
concerning  Christianity  in  Japan.  To  a  certain  question 
he  replied :  "  Yes,  send  us  many  more  missionaries,  for 
we  need  them  for  the  moral  elevation  of  our  people,  but 
send  us  only  good  and  able  ones,  for  you  have  made 
some  great  mistakes  in  this  respect."  He  had  special 
reference  to  some  years  gone  by,  and  the  mistakes  were 
not  repeated,  for  the  missionary  cause  had  suffered. 

At  times  there  have  been  some  ill-advised  methods 
pursued  that  tended  to  denationalize  and  Westernize 
the  converts,  and  which  naturally  tended  to  prejudice 
the  spirit  of  patriotism  and  national  pride  against  the 
missionaries  as  well  as  their  converts.  But  much  has 
been  learned  from  experience,  and  a  more  rational  and 
sympathetic  attitude  has  proved  more  successful,  by 
recognizing  all  that  is  best  in  their  religious  beliefs, 
and  then  seeking  to  adapt  our  religious  and  moral 
conceptions  to  their  modes  of  thought  so  as  to  win 
their  acceptance  of  the  essence  and  cardiv^al  truths  of 
the  Gospel,  and  trusting  to  its  divine  power  to  trans- 
form their  lives  and  practices,  instead  of  divorcing 
them  from  the  things  that  are  distinctly  national,  and 
which  must  remain  Indian. 

We  cannot,  and  we  should  not  attempt  to  transplant 
all  the  human  infirmities  and  man-made  peculiarities 


3i6  The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India 

that  characterize  the  various  opposing  sects  of  the 
Western  world  with  some  peculiar  forms,  and  then  set 
them  up  in  India,  and  build  a  high  stone  wall  around 
its  compound,  thus  separating  itself  like  a  high  caste 
from  the  poor  natives,  as  well  as  from  the  many  different 
sects  or  denominations  that  claim  priority,  and  which 
greatly  confuses  the  mind  of  the  natives.  I  acknowl- 
edge that  there  have  been  some  mental  and  moral 
weaklings,  some  adventurers  and  irresponsible  men  and 
women  among  the  great  army  of  missionaries,  who  by 
their  indiscretions  brought  reproach  upon  the  cause, 
but  their  number  is  rather  limited.  I  have  known  a  few 
erratic  ones  who  claimed  that  the  Lord  called  them  to 
go  into  the  Far  East,  and  before  they  had  learned  the 
language  or  rendered  any  practical  service,  they  re- 
ceived another  call  to  return  home ;  but  no  sane  man 
will  charge  the  Lord  with  such  contradictions. 

I  found  many  representative  people  connected  with 
the  great  mission  fields,  and  among  them  were  some  of 
God's  noble  men  and  women,  of  sterling  character, 
and  with  great  minds  and  hearts.  Some  were  even 
labouring  at  their  own  expense,  but  like  many  others 
being  wholly  constrained  by  the  love  of  Christ  for 
humanity  to  labour  for  the  highest  welfare  of  an  un- 
fortunate people.  Never  shall  I  forget  the  impression 
made  upon  me  when  we  met  that  heroine.  Dr.  Eijnhart, 
on  the  Tangste,  near  Nanking.  Her  husband  had  been 
basely  murdered  in  Thibet  where  she  had  previously 
lost  her  only  child,  and  amid  terrible  hardships  and 
dangers  she  left  the  country  and  returned  to  her  own 
home  in  America  to  recuperate  a  shattered  constitution. 
She  was  cast  down,  but  not  forsaken,  and  having  re- 
covered her  strength,  we  found  her  journeying  north 


Christianity  Versus  Other  World  Religions   317 

ward  through  China,  to  enter  alone  onoe  more  that 
forbidden  country,  but  cheered  and  sustained  by  an 
invincible  faith. 

We  must  keep  the  great,  heroic  and  consecrated  men 
and  women  in  mind  when  we  are  told  of  some  individ- 
ual failures,  for  some  ministers  and  Churches  at  home 
have  failed,  but  Christianity  in  America  has  not  failed, 
and  the  same  is  true  of  the  history  of  Christianity 
around  the  world,  in  every  land  and  on  every  isle  of  the 
sea  where  it  has  been  established,  for  it  has  been  for 
the  healing  of  the  nations  through  the  centuries,  and 
the  marvellous  results  abundantly  prove  that  the 
Gospel  is  the  power,  has  been,  and  is  still  the  "  power 
of  God  unto  salvation  to  every  one  that  believeth." 

In  contrast  with  the  hope  and  certainty  of  the  Chris* 
tian  religion  and  the  triumph  of  Christianity,  compare 
the  hopelessness  and  despair  of  Hinduism,  as  expressed 
by  Sir  Alfred  Lyall  in  "  Meditations  of  a  Hindu  Prince  " : 

"  All  the  world  over,  I  wonder,  in  lands  that  I  never 

have  trod, 
Are  the  people  eternally  seeking  for  the  signs  and  steps 

ofaOodf 
Westward  across  the  ocean,  and  Northward  aorosB  the 

snow. 
Do  they  all  stand  gazing,  aa  ever,  and  what  do  the 

wisest  know  f 


"  Here,  in  this  mystical  India,  the  deities  hover  and 

swarm 
Like  the  wild  bees  heard  in  the  tree-tops,  or  the  gnsts 

of  a  gathering  storm  ; 
In  the  air  the  men  hear  their  voices,  their  feet  on  the 

rocks  are  seen, 
Yet  we  all  say,  '  Whence  is  the  message,  and  what  may 

the  wonders  mean  f ' 


I'fi  il 


m 


318  The  God  Juggernaut  and  Hinduisro  in  India 
"  A  million  abrines  stand  open,  and  ever  the  censer 

As  they  now  to  a  mystic  symbol,  or  the  flgores  of  an* 

cient  kings ; 
And  the  incense  rises  ever,  and  rises  the  endless  cry 
Of  those  who  are  heavy  laden,  and  of  cowards  loth  to 

die. 

«•  For  tiie  Destiny  drives  ns  togetlier,  like  deer  in  a  pass 

of  the  hills;  ,  ^    ,  .^     v  * 

Above  is  the  sky,  and  around  us  the  sound  of  the  shot 

that  kills ;  ,         .  ,.      u    j 

Pnsh'd  by  a  power  we  see  not,  and  struck  by  a  hand 

unknown,  ,  „     , 

We  pray  to  the  trees  for  shelter,  and  press  our  lips  to  a 

stone. 

"  The  trees  wave  a  shadowy  answer,  and  the  rock  frowns 
hollow  and  grim. 

And  the  form  and  the  nod  of  the  demon  are  caught  in 
the  twilight  dim ; 

And  we  look  to  the  sunlight  falling  afar  on  the  moun- 
tain crest,—  -        xu  A 

Is  there  never  a  path  runs  upward  to  a  refuge  there  ana 

arestf 

*'  The  path,  ah  !  who  has  shown  it,  and  which  is  the 

futhful  guide  1 
The  haven,  ah  I  who  has  known  itt  for  steep  is  the 

mountainside, 
For  ever  the  shot  strikes  surely,  and  ever  the  wasted 

breath  , 

Of  the  praying  multitude  rises,  whose  answer  is  only 

deam. 

'^  Here  are  the  tombs  of  my  kinsfolk,  the  fruit  of  an  an- 
cient name. 

Chiefs  who  were  slain  ■  a  the  war-field,  and  women  who 
died  in  flame ; 

They  are  gods,  these  kings  of  the  foretime,  they  are 
spirits  who  guard  our  race  : 

Ever  I  watch  and  worship  ;  they  sit  with  a  marble  £k». 


Christianity  Versus  Other  World  Religions   319 

"  And  the  myriad  idols  aronod  me,  and  the  legion  of 

mattering  priests, 
The  rerels  and  rites  nnholy,  the  dark  unspeakable 

feasts  I 
What  have  they  wrong  flrom  the  Silenoe  f    Hath  even 

a  whisper  oome 
Of  the  se(»«t.  Whence  and  Whither  t    Alas  I  for  toe 

gods  are  domb." 


rKIRTSD  IN  THE  imiTKO  (TATn  Or  AMBRICA 


